SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Charging Decisions

Jon Trickett: To ask the Solicitor-General what guidance has been provided to (a) the Crown Prosecution Service and (b) police in relation to statutory charging arrangements and pre-charge bail from a police station to obtain a charging decision from a Crown Prosecutor.

Mike O'Brien: On 21 May 2004, the Director of Public Prosecutions issued guidance to police officers and Crown prosecutors under section 37A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The guidance sets out the cases that must be referred to prosecutors for charging decisions and the circumstances in which a release on bail before charge may be appropriate in accordance with the amendments to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
	In April 2005, further guidance was issued to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the police on the subject of granting pre-charge bail to obtain a charging decision from a Crown prosecutor. The guidance was formulated as a result of issues raised during the implementation of the statutory charging arrangements, and establishes a standardised approach to the operation of pre-charge bail.
	The decision to detain or grant pre-charge bail to obtain a charging decision from a Crown prosecutor is solely for the custody officer. There is no need to consult a Crown prosecutor to authorise the granting of bail or to confirm the conditions

Corruption

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Solicitor-General whether the Serious Fraud Office is investigating the allegation of corruption involving a Department of Trade and Industry employee.

Mike O'Brien: Following an article published in The Guardian newspaper on 13 October 2005, the SFO can confirm that information has been passed to it, in connection with alleged corruption of a DTI employee. The information provided is being considered to determine whether there is sufficient evidence, or realistic prospect of obtaining sufficient evidence, to justify commencing an investigation.

Departmental Skills Development Plan

Nick Gibb: To ask the Solicitor-General which individual is responsible for developing and implementing his Department's Skills Development Plan.

Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness (Mr. Hutton) on 2 November 2005, Official Report, column 1074W.

Gershon Review

Mark Francois: To ask the Solicitor-General what progress has been made, in terms of (a) headcount reductions and (b) cost savings, in achieving the efficiency objectives set for the Law Officers' Departments by the Gershon review.

Mike O'Brien: Progress was reported in Budget 2005 and in the Annual Report for the Law Officers' Departments 1 . Further progress will be reported in the individual Law Officers' Departments Autumn Performance Reports and, at aggregate level, in the pre-Budget report.
	1 Cm 6531

Gershon Review

Mark Francois: To ask the Solicitor-General who in the Law Officer's Departments has been made responsible for achieving the efficiency objectives set for the Departments by the Gershon review.

Mike O'Brien: The Attorney-General, as the Minister superintending the Law Officers' Departments, is responsible for the overall delivery of the Departments' efficiency programme.

Terrorism Bill

William Cash: To ask the Solicitor-General if the Attorney-General will place his advice to the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the compatibility of the Terrorism Bill with the Human Rights Act 1998 in the Library.

Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to the House on 3 November 2005, Official Report, column 1071.

Terrorism Bill

William Cash: To ask the Solicitor-General if he will make a statement on the compatibility of the Terrorism Bill with the Human Rights Act 1998.

Mike O'Brien: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has made a statement under section 19(l)(a) of the Human Rights Act 1998 giving his view that the Terrorism Bill is compatible with the Convention rights. Given the long-standing convention on not disclosing the content of Law Officer advice nor whether or not such advice exists, it would be wrong to comment further on this issue.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Departmental Skills Development Plan

Nick Gibb: To ask the Leader of the House which individual is responsible for developing and implementing his Office's Skills Development Plan.

Nigel Griffiths: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Hutton), on 2 November 2005, Official Report, column 1074W.

Departmental Spending

David Davies: To ask the Leader of the House how much his Office spent on items of art in 2004–05.

Nigel Griffiths: No expenditure by the Leader's Office has been incurred on items of art in 2004–05. Items of art in his Office are on loan from the Government Art Collection.

Scottish Legislation

David Mundell: To ask the Leader of the House further to the answer of 24 October 2005, Official Report, column 83W, on Scottish legislation (scrutiny), how much time was spent on scrutinising Scottish legislation between (a) 1992–93 and (b) 1999–2000, broken down by bill.

Geoff Hoon: Further details breaking down the information provided in my earlier answer are available from the Journal Office of the House.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bilateral Aid

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how his Department plans (a) to monitor and (b) to disaggregate information on how direct budget support provided as bilateral aid is spent.

Hilary Benn: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the response given to my hon. friend the Member for Cardiff, North on 27 October 2005, Official Report, column 512W.

EU Commissioner for External Trade

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the European Commissioner for External Trade on (a) the Economic Partnership Agreements and (b) the World Trade Organisation meeting in December.

Hilary Benn: I have had several discussions on both these issues with Commissioner Mandelson since he took up office. Most recently, the commissioner joined the informal meeting of EU Development Ministers which I hosted on 23 and 24 October in Leeds, by video-conference. There we discussed in particular the importance of a credible package of Aid for Trade" measures to be in place before the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting in December, so that developing countries can see that we are serious in addressing their concerns over trade reforms, and also so that they will be able to adjust to new trading circumstances as well as benefit from the opportunities that trade liberalisation can bring.

Niger

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when his Department first received warning of a food crisis in Niger from (a) the Early Warning System of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, (b) the Famine Early Warning System Network of the US Agency for International Development, (c) the FAO-WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission and (d) his Department's officials based in that country.

Hilary Benn: The Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)'s Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) produces two sets of reports that warn of imminent food crises in Africa. The Foodcrops and Shortages Report" from February 2005 stated that the harvest in Niger was normal against the five year average, and did not require exceptional and/or emergency assistance. The Food Supply Situation and Crop Prospects" Report in April 2005 similarly omitted Niger from its list of countries facing food emergencies. Only in its June 2005 edition did the Foodcrops and Shortages Report" recommend emergency assistance for Niger, and only in September 2005 did Niger feature on FAO/GIEWS' list of countries facing food crises.
	The FEWSNET bulletin first flagged Niger as a country under Warning Status" in December 2004, but it was not until June 2005 that this was upgraded to Emergency Status" demanding highest priority urgent action".
	DFID attended the presentation of the World Food Programme (WFP)/FAO's initial Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission (CFSAM) findings from the Sahel region in December 2004, where cereal production for the entire region was reported as average, in spite of drought and locusts, but where pockets of need were identified within all the Sahel countries. Based on the evidence, DFID judged that large scale food aid would not be required at that time.
	DFID does not have any officials based in Niger. The London based humanitarian unit responsible for monitoring emerging crises in Africa had been monitoring the situation in the Sahel since the locust invasions of August 2004. In April 2005, the first incontrovertible evidence of a deteriorating situation was provided by Medecins Sans Frontieres. A full account of DFID's subsequent response is set out in my parliamentary written statement on the Niger food crisis made on 11 October 2005, Official Report, columns 26–27WS.

WALES

Dentistry

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last discussed NHS dentistry with the Health Minister in the National Assembly for Wales Government.

Peter Hain: I met with the First Minister on 20 October when we discussed a range of issues, including dentistry. My hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales is in regular conversation with the Assembly Minister for Health and Social Services, Brian Gibbons, and plans to meet him to discuss dentistry on 14 November; I met him on 28 October. In addition, I met my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health on 3 November on this very same issue.

Devolution

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he will issue his guidance for a Government Department on devolution; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Peter Hain: Following the publication on 15 June 2005 of the Better Governance for Wales White Paper, the Government has agreed a revised Devolution Guidance Note 9.
	General Devolution Guidance is available on the DCA website: http://www.dca.gov.uk/constitution/devolution/guidance.htm
	A copy of DGN 9 is in the Library.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Women's Pensions

Lynda Waltho: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government are taking to tackle women's pension inequality; and what discussions she has had with the Department for Work and Pensions on this issue.

Meg Munn: The Women and Work Commission was set up in 2004 to look at ways to tackle the gender pay gap. Their report will be published in January 2006. The Department for Work and Pensions published a report on women and pensions last week, which provides a detailed analysis of women's pension position, without policy proposals. Both reports will inform the next steps taken by the Government to tackle women's pension inequality.
	Both my right hon. Friends the Cabinet Minister for Women and I have had discussions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the issue of women's pensions. The issue of women's pensions is central to the National Pensions Debate and the women and pensions report will provide a valuable contribution to that debate. The report provides a firm basis on which to build consensus on the way forward and achieve fair outcomes for women.

Women's Pensions

Lynda Waltho: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government are taking to encourage women to provide for their retirement using private pensions.

Meg Munn: I welcome the report that the Department for Work and Pensions published last week, which provides a detailed analysis of women's pension position. It considers both state and private pension entitlements and highlights key influences on the level of women's retirement incomes: women's education, employment, earnings, caring responsibilities and demographic trends. It also includes research on household financial planning.
	The issue of women's pensions is central to the National Pensions Debate and this report provides a valuable contribution to that debate. The report provides a firm basis on which to build consensus on the way forward and achieve fair outcomes for women.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Avian Influenza

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research her Department has commissioned on preventative measures to prevent the spread of Avian influenza.

Ben Bradshaw: The current research programme on Avian influenza (AI) is multi-disciplinary with many facets that are aimed toward improving our understanding of the disease and effective methods of prevention and control.
	For example, one project is conducting studies to assess virus survival under various environmental conditions. This will provide direct evidence on risks of transmission in poultry products. Another project is seeking to develop improved diagnostic technologies that will allow more rapid identification of infection.
	Other studies are currently under way to improve our understanding of viral transmission within flocks and the effect, on this, of prior immunity.

Avian Influenza

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many registered quarantine sites for birds exist in the UK.

Ben Bradshaw: Current records show that there are 83 bird quarantine facilities and centres in the UK. This figure may not distinguish between single facilities and multiple units in large bird quarantine centres.

Avian Influenza

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what training for (a) state veterinary service veterinary surgeons and (b) private practice veterinary surgeons (i) has been and (ii) are being provided with in the detection of Avian influenza.

Ben Bradshaw: All veterinary surgeons, as part of their training, are trained in clinical investigation and the diagnosis of disease.
	The state veterinary service has recently run a programme of training for veterinary officers to update them on dealing with a potential outbreak of Avian influenza. Confirmation of disease is based on laboratory analysis and not clinical diagnosis in the field.

Avian Influenza

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what arrangements have been made for the safe disposal of poultry carcasses in the event of a cull for avian influenza.

Ben Bradshaw: Disposal of carcases of birds infected with highly pathogenic Avian influenza would be by off-site incineration or rendering in specialist plants. If existing incineration and rendering capacity were fully utilised, carcases would be disposed of by deep burial in suitably engineered commercial licensed landfills.

Avian Influenza

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the capacity of the rendering industry to deal with the number of poultry slaughtered in the event of an outbreak of Avian influenza.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department is in close contact with the United Kingdom Renderers Association (UKRA) and has assessed the current available capacity and maximum likely capacity. The available capacity at any time will depend on the time of year, breakdowns and other demands. Some 2,500 tonnes per week (equivalent to 1.25 million chickens) would be available very quickly and a further 10–15,000 tonnes could be brought on stream within about two weeks.

Avian Influenza

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what further steps her Department plans to take to ensure that Avian influenza does not enter the UK through poultry meat imports.

Ben Bradshaw: Poultry meat can only be imported from countries approved by the European Community. In addition the country of origin must submit a plan setting out the guarantees which it offers with regards to the use of veterinary drugs and other products which could lead to residues and contaminants in foods.
	Fresh poultry meat must have been slaughtered, cut and stored in Community approved establishments.
	Each consignment must be accompanied by a certificate signed and stamped by a duly authorised veterinary officer of the Government of the exporting country and bear a health mark.
	All poultry meat and birds imported into the EU from third countries must enter at designated border inspection posts where they are subject to veterinary inspections. All consignments are subject to documentary and identity checks. These check ensure that these import conditions are met.
	If there is an outbreak of notifiable disease in an exporting country Defra takes appropriate emergency safeguard action in accordance with Community legislation. This may include a ban on imports of animals and animal products from all, or parts, of that country.

Avian Influenza

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what tests her Department carries out on meat imports to ensure that they are free of (a) Avian influenza and (b) foot and mouth disease.

Ben Bradshaw: Testing imported meat would be both impractical and prohibitively expensive. Currently available tests have only been validated for detecting viruses in clinical samples.
	Current EU legislation contains measures to ensure that meat imported into the EU does not originate from animals infected with serious disease.

Avian Influenza

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for how long she expects farms infected with avian influenza to be closed.

Ben Bradshaw: After the disease has been confirmed, the premises must first be depopulated of poultry and subjected to preliminary cleansing and disinfection. Following depopulation, the premises must be cleansed and disinfected to standards set by a DEFRA veterinarian and this may take several weeks for it to be completed. The premises must then remain empty of poultry for at least 21 days. We would then allow the premises to re-stock if there were no more outbreaks of the disease in the locality. Once restocked the poultry would be kept under close surveillance for a period of 21 days and subjected to clinical inspections during that period.

Avian Influenza

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her oral statement of 26 October 2005, Official Report, column 308, how many poultry and bird markets she expects will be closed.

Ben Bradshaw: Under the Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) Regulations 2005, birds collected together at exhibitions, shows, fairs or other gatherings are no longer permitted except under licence following a veterinary risk assessment. Information on the number of poultry and bird markets is not readily available. This is anticipated to affect a number of markets.

Avian Influenza

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for how long the Government propose to keep (a) bird auctions and (b) bird markets closed in the event of an outbreak of avian influenza; what assessment she has made of (i) the effect of the closures on those employed in markets and auctions; and (ii) the merits of paying compensation to those affected.

Ben Bradshaw: On the 21 October the European Commission considered the encroaching avian influenza threat and, as a result, introduced a decision to ban bird markets, fairs and other gatherings of birds until the 31 January 2006, when the decision will be reviewed. This decision was implemented in England by the Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) Regulations 2005 (2005 No. 2989). The ban will remain in place until the European law requiring it is lifted. We have worked with representatives of groups holding such events and assessed the risks. As a result, some gatherings may continue under licence and subject to biosecurity controls. We will consider any applications for a licence sympathetically and any which can be permitted to go ahead following a veterinary risk assessment will be licensed. There is no provision for the payment of compensation in these circumstances.

Avian Influenza

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she will take to ensure secondary losses resulting from biosecurity restrictions relating to avian influenza do not have an adverse economic impact on farmers.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department considers that poultry farmers, in common with all animal owners, have a responsibility to maintain good biosecurity and have issued appropriate guidance. Any action taken to control avian influenza should be proportionate and decided upon in the light of an overall assessment of the risks, costs and benefits in a particular situation.

Avian Influenza

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what compensation package has been agreed with the poultry industry in the event of an avian influenza outbreak; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: In the event of an avian influenza outbreak, compensation would be payable under schedule 3 of the Animal Health Act 1981 against the number of healthy birds destroyed at time of slaughter.

Avian Influenza

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the adequacy of personnel numbers within the state veterinary service to deal with an outbreak of avian influenza.

Ben Bradshaw: The SVS and DEFRA as a whole have plans in place to enable them rapidly to increase personnel numbers to deal with an outbreak of avian influenza.
	These plans include the ability to call on trained contingency LVIs, vets from other signatory country members of the International Health Emergency Reserve and staff from other Government Departments.

Avian Influenza

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what model her Department has prepared to predict the spread of avian influenza should an outbreak occur.

Ben Bradshaw: My Officials are currently closely engaged with both the industry to collect data and a wide range of modellers to ensure that a range of models to support policy development and decision taking is rapidly put in place.

Avian Influenza

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance she has given on the holding of bird fairs and sales.

Ben Bradshaw: The Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) Regulations 2005 prohibit birds to be collected together at any fair, market, show or exhibition except under licence following a veterinary risk assessment. Detailed guidance on these rules are set out on the DEFRA website (http://defraweb/animalh/diseases/notifiable/disease/ai/shows/qanda.htm) and relevant stakeholders have been informed.

Avian Influenza

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's assessment is of the risk of the feral pigeon population as a disease reservoir for avian influenza; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: In comparison to domestic chickens, feral pigeons are generally unsusceptible to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Experimental studies show that while pigeons can be infected with HPAI they do not appear to excrete the virus. This suggests that pigeons are unlikely to form a reservoir of infection of virus. However, the risk cannot be completely discounted and the public is encouraged to report any unusual die-off in pigeons or any other wild birds to the DEFRA helpline (08459 33 55 77) when further advice will be provided.

Avian Influenza

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has in place regarding the treatment and regulation of birds in (a) zoological gardens and (b) other public animal parks (i) in preparation for and (ii) in the event of an outbreak of avian influenza.

Ben Bradshaw: The Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures in Zoos) Regulations 2005 outline the treatment and regulation of birds in 2005, and institute similar establishments in the event of a need to reduce the risk of transmission of avian influenza If required, an avian influenza prevention (zoos) zone will be declared in all or part of England, or restrictions notices may be served on the owner or occupier of any zoo where susceptible birds are kept.

Avian Influenza

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) parrots and (b) other birds at the quarantine facility in Essex referred to in DEFRA press release 471/05 have been examined by veterinary (a) inspectors, (b) technicians and (c) experts.

Ben Bradshaw: All of the birds kept at the quarantine facility referred to in Defra press notice 471/05 have been examined by officers of the State Veterinary Service.

Avian Influenza

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) parrots and (b) other birds have been sampled for H5N1 avian influenza virus; how many samples were collected; and what the results were of the samples submitted for laboratory examination.

Ben Bradshaw: Two parrots were submitted on 20 September for examination and both proved to be negative for avian influenza virus. A parrot and a mesia were submitted on 14 October from which the isolation of H5N1 was made. On 22 October a total of 104 parrot and 171 other bird carcasses were submitted and representative samples according to species and location in the quarantine site were tested. A number of the mesias have tested positive. We are awaiting the results from the rest of the birds.

Avian Influenza

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether there have been any recorded episodes of animal-to-animal spread of H5N1 avian influenza.

Ben Bradshaw: H5N1 avian influenza is normally transmitted between birds. The ease of transmission depends on the species of birds involved.
	However, on rare occasions it has been known for other mammalian species to become infected following close contact with infective birds. There is little to suggest onward transmission from these species.
	There is some evidence to suggest that pigs have become infected with avian influenza viruses of subtypes H5N1 following contact with infective birds. There is no evidence of onward transmission from pigs to other pigs.

Avian Influenza

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether H5N1 avian influenza is transmissible to pigs.

Ben Bradshaw: There is evidence to suggest that pigs have become infected with avian influenza viruses of subtypes H5N1 following contact with infective birds. There is no evidence of onward transmission from pigs to other pigs.

Avian Influenza

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions officials from her Department had with officials of the Taiwan Government prior to publishing the working hypothesis of the Chief Veterinarian on the origin of the H5N1 virus recovered from bird samples taken at the quarantine facility in Essex.

Ben Bradshaw: None.

Avian Influenza

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the source of H5N1 infection among birds at the quarantine facility in Essex.

Ben Bradshaw: Extensive virological examinations of the birds are being carried out but these will take at least two weeks to complete.

Avian Influenza

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what laboratory procedures are used to identify clades.

Ben Bradshaw: A clade is a distinct branch within a phylogenic organisation of viruses within a family. Identification of which clade an influenza virus belongs involves isolation of the virus by growth on eggs, subsequent characterisation by examination of its nucleotide sequence and then comparing this to the sequences of other viruses previously isolated. It is then possible to place the new isolate within the family tree.

Avian Influenza

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what definition of clade her Department uses in relation to the taxonomy of H5N1 sub-types.

Ben Bradshaw: A clade is a genetically homologous group of viruses which clearly can be distinguished from other groups.

Avian Influenza

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her oral statement of 26 October 2005, Official Report, columns 307–9, on avian influenza, what regulations she plans to bring forward to assist in reducing the risk of disease and strengthening the ability to control an outbreak of bird influenza.

Ben Bradshaw: New measures to help prevent the spread of avian influenza have been agreed by the European Commission through Commission Decision 2005/734 amended by 2005/745.
	The Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) Regulations 2005 which came into force on 28 October implements this into domestic legislation and in the event of an increased risk assessment:
	(i) Allows for future biosecurity measure to be introduced if needed (e.g. feeding and watering birds indoors or keeping birds indoors).
	(ii) Bans the gathering of birds at markets, shows, fairs and similar events.
	(iii) Requires keepers of 50 or more commercial poultry to notify specific information on that poultry.
	The Avian Influenza (Preventative Measures in Zoos) Regulations 2005 which also came into force on 28 October 2005:
	(i) Require Government to undertake a risk assessment of the possible introduction of avian influenza by wild birds.
	(ii) Allow for future preventative biosecurity measures to be introduced if needed (e.g. feeding and watering birds indoors or keeping birds indoors).
	(iii) Provide powers to require zoo birds to be vaccinated in high-risk areas.

Biomass Industry

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of UK-produced biomass energy for (a) electricity and (b) heat has been generated from crops grown in the UK in each of the last three years.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	Estimates used to compile the tables shown in the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2005, show that in 2002, 2003 and 2004 all biomass used for the generation of heat in the UK was home produced. For biomass used in co-firing with fossil fuels to generate electricity, 56 per cent. was imported in 2003 and 63 per cent. in 2004. Information to enable the corresponding proportion for 2002 to be calculated is not available. It is further estimated that there is no importation of other bio-fuels such as straw, or short rotation coppice for electricity generation.
	The tables from the Digest of UK Energy Statistics used for this reply are 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 7.7. The Digest is available in the Libraries of the House.

Biosecurity

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the latest information provided by her Department to farmers on biosecurity measures to deal with avian influenza and West Nile fever.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has distributed guidance materials on avian influenza to our partners in the industry—including the British Poultry Council, the British Egg Industry Council and the National Farmers Union—who are helping to distribute this material to their members, who cover the majority of birds. A simple one-page leaflet on biosecurity and surveillance for smaller concerns and back yard keepers has also been produced and is being distributed widely including to all veterinary practices and placed in trade and specialist press targeting the same audience. All this information is available on my Department's website and I am placing copies in the Library of the House.
	Advice regarding West Nile Virus is contained in the draft contingency plan for Specified Type Equine Exotic Diseases which is currently out for public consultation.
	The draft plan can be found at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/current.htm. The closing date for responses is 21 November 2005.
	Information concerning West Nile Virus can also be found on the West Nile Virus Q&A at: http://defraweb/animalh/diseases/notifiable/disease/westnilevirus.htm

Biosecurity

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the level of preparedness for the vaccination of animals against (a) avian influenza and (b) West Nile fever.

Ben Bradshaw: There are no vaccines against avian influenza which have a marketing authorisation for use in the UK. Work is in hand to consider whether vaccination of birds in zoos or other centres on the one hand, or of commercial poultry on the other, should form part of the control strategy in the UK. There are no vaccines against West Nile fever with a marketing authorisation for use in the UK. A draft contingency plan for dealing with outbreaks of specified type equine exotic diseases (which includes West Nile virus) was issued for consultation in July 2005.

Birds

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information she has received on the number of wild birds traded into the European Union (a) in 2004 and (b) to date in 2005; and what checks have been made for avian influenza among these birds.

Ben Bradshaw: Figures from the EU-wide computer system used to record imports of animals and their products, known as TRACES, show that in 2004 67,480 captive birds were imported into the European Union. Of these 66,586 were imported into the UK.
	In 2005 120,639 captive birds were imported into the EU to date. Of these 119,856 were imported into the UK.
	These figures are for captive birds, as no distinction can be made between captive bred birds and wild caught birds. The figures do not include poultry. However there are discrepancies between these figures and the figures reported by CITES. We are concerned about these discrepancies between these figures and are urgently investigating them to resolve the problem.
	All imported captive birds must be held in quarantine for 30 days during which time a test must be carried out for the avian influenza virus.

Birds

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what procedures are followed for the quarantine of birds from different countries in separate facilities; and when this system was put in place.

Ben Bradshaw: EU law includes no requirement for quarantined birds from different countries to be kept separate in a quarantine facility.

Call Centres

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many call centres were run by her Department and its agencies in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06 to date; and how many and what proportion of calls (i) were handled by an adviser, (ii) were received but abandoned and (iii) received an engaged tone in each year.

Jim Knight: The Regional Payments Agency (RPA) manages the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) call centre and Customer Service Centre. The DEFRA and Pets Travel Scheme helplines are both situated in BCMS/RPA call centre.
	The Environment Agency manages a National Customer Contact Centre and Floodline.
	The following tables show figures for each contact centre and helpline.
	
		BCMS/ English and Welsh lines
		
			 (a) Year Total calls received Total calls answered by an agent Total calls abandoned Percentage calls answered 
		
		
			 2003–04 464,802 426,689 38,113 92 
			 2004–05 413,813 402,437 11,376 97 
			 2005–06 263,273 259,597 3,676 98.6 
		
	
	During busy periods callers receive a message that advises them that demands are high and to call back later. We do not have figures for how many callers receive this message or an engaged tone.
	
		Defra helpline
		
			 (a) Year Total calls received Total calls answered by an agent Total calls abandoned Percentage calls answered 
		
		
			 2004–05 77,927 72,516 5,411 93.5 
			 2005–06 (to date) 67,778 62,302 5,476 92.5 
		
	
	The DEFRA helpline began operating from BCMS on 1 April 2003.
	Detailed information on figures for years 2003–04 is disproportionate to costs and therefore not available.
	
		Pets travel scheme helpline
		
			 (a) Year Total calls received Total calls answered by an agent Total calls Abandoned Percentage calls answered 
		
		
			 2004–05 35,871 33,992 1,879 96 
			 2005–06 (to date) 39,061 37,616 1,445 95 
		
	
	The Pet Travel Scheme helpline began operating from BCMS on 1 April 2004.
	The BCMS call centre is able to manage call flow to both the DEFRA and Pets helplines so that callers do not receive an engaged tone through the provision of a front ended Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. It has the capacity to point calls to a live agent ensuring that no caller receives an engaged tone. It is essential that all callers have access to advisers for the Pet Travel Scheme.
	RPA Customer Service Centre
	(a) The Rural Payments Agency Customer Service Centre was not active in 2003–04.
	We utilized the services of two BT contact centres, Shoreditch and Derby, to help handle the volume of calls at the busiest period. The maximum number of agents (advisers) supplied by BT was 186, in mid May 2005, steadily reducing to 15 by the end of August. These were in addition to the RPA CSC normal complement of 68 agents.
	
		
			  Total calls received Total calls answered Handled by an adviser (percentage) Total calls abandoned Percentage Total calls engaged/ disconnected Percentage 
		
		
			 (b) 12 July 2004 to 31 March 2005 201,109 106,379 53 11,195 5.5 83,535 41.5 
			 (c) 1 April 2005 to 28 October 2005 408,352 294,093 72 8,185 2 106,074 26 
		
	
	Environment Agency
	National Customer Contact Centre
	Period covered: 1 September 2004 to 30 September 2005 (the date the service went fully live).
	
		
			  Total calls received Total calls answered by adviser Total calls abandoned Percentage calls answered 
		
		
			 2004–05 468,055 434,924 33,131 93 
			 2005–06 485,152 449,763 35,389 93 
		
	
	It is extremely rare for any caller to get an engaged tone; this would only happen if we were exceptionally busy. We have no statistics available for the number of callers getting such a tone since these callers do not make it through to our system.
	Floodline
	The Environment Agency's FLOODLINE service has one Call Centre supplier who provides both an Interactive Voice Recording service (RMS) and a Live Agent call operator service for all the calls received on the 0845 988 1188 number.
	RMS
	RMS provides an automated flood warning service to the public, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, which is accessible via the 0845 988 1188 number. Flood warnings are issued and managed by the Environment Agency and SEPA, who have the ability to record and delete warnings for particular areas of the country as required. Public callers can hear flood warnings either by
	1. Navigating down a menu structure to their required area,
	2. By 'quick dialling' to the required area or
	3. By direct transfer to a warning message by the Floodline Call Centre operator.
	Live Agent
	The 0845 9881188 number also provides the public the option of speaking to a Live Agent Operator to advise on any matter associated with flooding or related issues.
	
		Call statistics of Floodline call centre—0845 9881188
		
			 Date Total calls received Total calls handled by RMS Total calls offered to adviser Total handled by an adviser (percentage) Received but abandoned (percentage) 
		
		
			 January 2003 to January 2004 154,746 112,934 41,812 94.9 5.1 
			 January 2004 to January 2005 142,407 104,063 38,344 95.5 4.5 
			 January 2005 to October 2005 (part year) 80,273 48,179 32,094 95.5 4.5 
		
	
	(iii) We are unable to advise on the number of callers that received an engaged tone. This would be unlikely to happen on the RMS service as we have a concurrent capacity of 720 lines.

Charity Shops

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance she has issued to local waste collection authorities concerning the charging of charity shops for the collection of unusable items donated by members of the public.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra has issued no specific guidance to waste collection authorities about the charging of charity shops for the collection by waste collection authorities of unusable items donated by members of the public since the publication of the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992. Guidance to waste collection authorities in Schedule 2 to these regulations covers the types of household waste for which a charge for collection may be made. Where waste collection authorities do decide to charge they must only recover their costs of collection and these costs must be set at a level so that the authorities do not make a profit. There are no plans to change this guidance.

Commercial Poultry Producers Register

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the register of commercial poultry producers is expected to be established.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department plans to establish the GB register by the end of December 2005.

Common Agricultural Policy

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will update the information released relating to individual recipients of common agricultural policy support payments to include (a) the postcode of the recipient and (b) location information at the NUTS-5 level.

Jim Knight: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) disclosed common agricultural policy (CAP) payment information on 22 March 2005, listing the names of CAP subsidy recipients and the amount paid to them in the last two years.
	The information represented an annual aggregate figure for payments to each recipient under all of the schemes paid by RPA. The full list of schemes covered by the disclosure is set out in Annex A.
	RPA published on its website in July 2005 a supplement to the CAP payments information giving details of payments by geographic location for the EAGGF (European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund) year 2003–04. The regional analysis has been produced using the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) and NUTS levels one and two were used to provide this analysis.
	It was concluded that a more detailed regional breakdown to lower levels of NUTS codes 3, 4, and 5 and the release of full postal addresses would not be appropriate. The general privacy arguments were examined in detail and it was concluded that the risks around privacy intrusion outweighed the limited additional public value of the additional postal address data.
	Further, the diversion of more resources from other priority work, in particular considering RPA's imperative to commencing Single Payment Scheme payments to farmers by February 2006, to produce additional geographical breakdown would be manifestly unreasonable.
	Annex A—Schemes Administered By RPA
	IACS and other farm based schemes dealt with by RPA for England:
	Arable schemes:
	Arable Area Payments Scheme (AAPS) including Fibre Flax Subsidy and Hemp Subsidy
	Aid for Grain Legumes
	Bovine schemes:
	Beef Special Premium Scheme (BSPS)
	Suckler Cow Premium Scheme (SCPS), including decisions about suckler cow quota
	Extensification Payments Scheme (EPS)
	Slaughter Premium Scheme (SPS), including Veal Calf Slaughter Premium
	Sheep schemes:
	Sheep Annual Premium Scheme (SAPS), including the LFA Supplement and decisions about sheep quota
	Agrimonetary Compensation linked to any of the above schemes
	England Rural Development Programme (ERDP), including the Hill Farm Allowance Scheme (HFA).
	Structural funds:
	The Structural Funds are a multi-funded EU programme. Defra is the managing authority, RPA is the paying authority (responsible for financial and accounting controls) and the Government Offices act as the intermediate bodies (responsible for administration and implementation).
	RPA only pays under the Guidance element for schemes in Objective 1 regions and for Leader + schemes.
	Non-IACS (i.e. CAP) schemes dealt with by RPA for the UK:
	General:
	Aid for Concentrated Grape Must
	Aid for Dehydrated Fodder
	Apple Consumption Aid
	Beef Information Programme
	Butter for Manufacture
	Butter for Non-Profit Making Organisations
	Cane Sugar Refining Aid
	Control of Casein in Cheese Making
	Casein Production Subsidy
	Citrus Processing Aid
	Concentrated Butter for Direct Consumption
	End Use Control of Certain Fruit and Vegetables
	Fibres Processing Aid
	Fish Carry-Over Aid
	Fish Flat-Rate Aid
	Fish Flat-Rate Premium
	Fish Private Storage Aid
	Fish Withdrawals Compensation
	Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Withdrawals
	Fruit and Vegetable Operational Programme
	Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisation Recognition
	Grape Juice Aid
	Herbage Seed Production Aid
	Milk Quotas Scheme
	Olive Oil Production Refunds
	Over Thirty Months Scheme
	Promotions to Internal Market
	Promotions to Third Countries
	School Milk Scheme
	Selective Cull Scheme
	Skimmed Milk Powder for Animal Feed
	Starch for Prescribed End Users
	Sugar and Isoglucose Production Levies
	Sugar in the Chemical Industry
	Intervention purchasing schemes:
	Cereals
	Beef
	Dairy
	Private storage aid schemes:
	Dairy
	Sheepmeat/goatmeat
	Pigmeat
	Beef
	Sugar oils and starch:
	Cane Sugar Refining
	End Use Control of Certain Vegetable Oils
	Olive Oil Production
	Production Refund on sugar used in the Chemical Industry
	Starch Refunds—Cereals
	Starch Refunds—Rice
	Isoglucose Quotas and Production Levies
	Sugar Quotas and Production Levies
	External trade schemes (including export refunds):
	Bananas
	Beef and Veal
	Beef Import Tariff Quota
	Cereals
	Rice
	Fish
	Floriculture (live plants and flowers)
	Fruit and Vegetables
	Milk/Milk Products
	Processed Goods (i.e products including two or more agricultural products supported by the CAP)
	Oils/Fats
	Oilseeds/Seeds
	Pigmeat
	Eggs
	Poultrymeat
	Sheepmeat and Goatmeat
	Sugar, Isoglucose and Insulin Syrup
	Tobacco
	Whisky refunds
	Wine.

Common Agricultural Policy

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list recipients of payment under common agricultural policy agri-environment and rural development schemes for the last two years including (a) size of payment, (b) date of payment, (c) name of scheme under which payment was made, (d) name of recipient, (e) postal address of recipient and (f) location of enterprise in respect of which the payment was made.

Jim Knight: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) disclosed common agricultural policy (CAP) payment information on 22 March 2005, listing the names of CAP subsidy recipients and the amount paid to them in the last two years.
	The information represented an annual aggregate figure for payments to each recipient under all of the schemes paid by RPA, including agri-environment and rural development schemes. The full list of schemes covered by the disclosure is set out in Annex A.
	RPA investigated the practicalities of providing further breakdown by scheme, including scheme type, date of payment and name of scheme under which payment was made. It was concluded that it was unreasonable to produce this data because it is held in detailed scheme records and to reconcile the scheme statistics against the monies paid at the aggregate customer level would be extremely resource intensive.
	RPA published on its website in July 2005 a supplement to the CAP payments information giving details of payments by geographic location for the EAGGF (European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund) year 2003–04. The regional analysis has been produced using the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) and NUTS levels one and two were used to provide this analysis. It was decided that a more detailed regional breakdown and the release of full postal addresses would not be appropriate. The general privacy arguments were examined in detail and it was concluded that the risks around privacy intrusion outweighed the limited additional public value of the additional postal address data.
	Further, the diversion of more resources from other priority work, in particular considering RPA's imperative to commencing Single Payment Scheme payments to farmers by February 2006, to produce additional geographical or scheme breakdown would be manifestly unreasonable. However RPA continues to examine detailed requests on a case by case basis.
	Annex A—Schemes administered by RPA
	IACS and other farm based schemes dealt with by RPA for England:
	Arable schemes:
	Arable Area Payments Scheme (AAPS) including Fibre Flax Subsidy and Hemp Subsidy
	Aid for Grain Legumes
	Bovine schemes:
	Beef Special Premium Scheme (BSPS)
	Suckler Cow Premium Scheme (SCPS), including decisions about suckler cow quota
	Extensification Payments Scheme (EPS)
	Slaughter Premium Scheme (SPS), including Veal Calf Slaughter Premium
	Sheep schemes:
	Sheep Annual Premium Scheme (SAPS), including the LFA Supplement and decisions about sheep quota
	Agrimonetary compensation linked to any of the above schemes:
	England Rural Development Programme (ERDP), including the Hill Farm Allowance Scheme (HFA)
	Structural funds:
	The Structural Funds are a multi-funded EU programme. Defra is the Managing Authority, RPA is the paying authority (responsible for financial and accounting controls) and the Government Offices act as the intermediate bodies (responsible for administration and implementation).
	RPA only pays under the Guidance element for schemes in Objective 1 regions and for Leader + schemes.
	Non-IACS (i.e. CAP) schemes dealt with by RPA for the UK:
	General:
	Aid for Concentrated Grape Must
	Aid for Dehydrated Fodder
	Apple Consumption Aid
	Beef Information Programme
	Butter for Manufacture
	Butter for Non-Profit Making Organisations
	Cane Sugar Refining Aid
	Control of Casein in Cheese Making
	Casein Production Subsidy
	Citrus Processing Aid
	Concentrated Butter for Direct Consumption
	End Use Control of Certain Fruit and Vegetables
	Fibres Processing Aid
	Fish Carry-Over Aid
	Fish Flat-Rate Aid
	Fish Flat-Rate Premium
	Fish Private Storage Aid
	Fish Withdrawals Compensation
	Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Withdrawals
	Fruit and Vegetable Operational Programme
	Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisation Recognition
	Grape Juice Aid
	Herbage Seed Production Aid
	Milk Quotas Scheme
	Olive Oil Production Refunds
	Over Thirty Months Scheme
	Promotions to Internal Market
	Promotions to Third Countries
	School Milk Scheme
	Selective Cull Scheme
	Skimmed Milk Powder for Animal Feed
	Starch for Prescribed End Users
	Sugar and Isoglucose Production Levies
	Sugar in the Chemical Industry
	Intervention purchasing schemes:
	Cereals
	Beef
	Dairy
	Private storage aid schemes:
	Dairy
	Sheepmeat/Goatmeat
	Pigmeat
	Beef
	Sugar, Oils and Starch:
	Cane Sugar Refining
	End Use Control of Certain Vegetable Oils
	Olive Oil Production
	Production Refund on sugar used in the Chemical Industry
	Starch Refunds—Cereals
	Starch Refunds—Rice
	Isoglucose Quotas and Production Levies
	Sugar Quotas and Production Levies
	External trade schemes (including export refunds):
	Bananas
	Beef and Veal
	Beef Import Tariff Quota
	Cereals
	Rice
	Fish
	Floriculture (live plants and flowers)
	Fruit and Vegetables
	Milk/Milk Products
	Processed Goods (i.e products including two or more agricultural products supported by the CAP).
	Oils/Fats
	Oilseeds/Seeds
	Pigmeat
	Eggs
	Poultrymeat
	Sheepmeat and Goatmeat
	Sugar, Isoglucose and Insulin Syrup
	Tobacco
	Whisky refunds
	Wine.

Common Agricultural Policy

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information she has received on progress towards implementing the mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy in each other EU member state.

Jim Knight: The European Commission published a summary on 8 September 2005 entitled Implementation of the CAP reform in the Member States" which outlines how each member state is implementing the 2003 reforms. Copies will be made available in the Library of the House.

Common Agricultural Policy

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the EU Trade Commissioner on agricultural support payments; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: holding answer 26 October 2005
	My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, discusses important policy issues with all relevant EU Commissioners, including the EU Trade Commissioner. Agricultural support payments are a key element of the current Doha Development Agenda negotiations in the WTO.

Correspondence

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to reply to the letter dated 25 July 2005 from the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan regarding tallow combustion.

Jim Knight: The issues raised in the hon. Gentleman's letter of 25 July to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State fall within the remit of the Scottish Executive. The hon. Gentleman's letter has therefore been transferred to the Scottish Executive correspondence section which will reply to him directly.

Departmental Consultations

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list formal consultations being sponsored by her Department and its agencies; and what the (a) commencement date and (b) deadline for responses is in each case.

Jim Knight: A list of the Department's current consultations can be found on the Defra website at via the home page under 'consultations' or direct to the website http://defraweb/corporate/consult/current.htm. This site contains the date of issue and the deadline for responses.

Departmental Skills Development Plan

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which individual is responsible for developing and implementing her Department's Skills Development Plan.

Jim Knight: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Hutton) on 2 November 2005, Official Report, column 1074W.

Departmental Skills Development Plan

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will place in the Library a copy of her Department's Skills Development Plan.

Jim Knight: We will ensure that a copy of the Department's Skills Development Plan will be made available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Vehicles

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of her Department's vehicles use (a) hydrogen fuel cells and (b) hybrid environmentally friendly technologies.

Jim Knight: The following percentages relate to vehicles owned by Defra and its executive agencies.
	
		
			 Type of vehicle Percentage 
		
		
			 (a) hydrogen fuel cells 0 
			 (b) powered by hybrid environmentally friendly  technologies 1.3

Departmental Vehicles

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions her Department's vehicles have produced in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: Defra was created on 8 June 2001. Full year information is available from 2002–03. Information on carbon emissions from business road travel in vehicles owned by Defra and its executive agencies each year is shown in the following table.
	
		Tonnes
		
			  Carbon dioxide emissions 
		
		
			 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 1,153 
			 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 1,214 
			 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005 1,594 
		
	
	Business road travel is also carried out by officials in their own vehicles.

Departmental Vehicles

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of journeys made by (a) officials and (b) Ministers in her Department have been made by public transport in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: Records held by Defra and its executive agencies do not allow for this information to be separately identified.

Duck Producers (Inspections)

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many inspections have been carried out in each of the last three years at the premises of duck producers.

Ben Bradshaw: The State Veterinary Service has carried out the following number of inspections on the premises of duck producers in the last three years:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1 January to 31 December  
			 2003 121 
			 2004 168 
			   
			 1 January to 30 September  
			 2005 121

Fireblight Disease

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the possible existence in wild plants of the fireblight disease.

Ben Bradshaw: Fireblight, a bacterial plant disease, is well established throughout much of Europe and has been known to exist in the UK since the 1950s. It is a serious disease of apples, pears and related trees and shrubs in the family Rosaceae, sub family Pomoideae. The list of susceptible material includes several plants which commonly grow wild in England and Wales, including Chaenomeles (Flowering Quince), Cotoneaster, Crataegus (Hawthorn) and Sorbus (Mountain Ash).
	The first UK finding of fireblight was in Kent in 1957. It is now widespread in Wales, England and also parts of Scotland but absent from Northern Ireland. The disease can be spread by wind, rain, birds and pollinating insects, as well as on contaminated pruning tools and by the planting of infected plants which may or may not show symptoms. It is known to have spread in England along hawthorn hedges planted alongside railways, motorways and main roads. There are no pesticides currently available to treat the disease.
	Nurseries intending to move fireblight-host material have to be registered with DEFRA and must have at least two inspections per year in order to retain their ability to trade susceptible plants within the EU.

Fireblight Disease

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are in place to ensure that exporters of fireblight-susceptible species of trees and shrubs do not use other species' names on the necessary paperwork; and what assessment she has made of whether those who inspect the paperwork are capable of (a) differentiating and (b) identifying the species.

Ben Bradshaw: Exporters of plants and plant products to non EC countries must satisfy the plant health requirements of the importing country. In many cases importing countries require consignments to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the official services in the country of origin as evidence that those requirements have been met. In the case of fireblight-susceptible host plants, where requested by an exporter and if required by the importing country, DEFRA's Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate (PHSI) will undertake inspection of the material and, if it is found to comply with the conditions of import, will issue the necessary phytosanitary certificate. This would include details of the plant genera and species.
	In relation to movements within the EU, growers of fireblight host material are required to register with DEFRA as producers of plant material requiring a plant passport and they also have to apply to DEFRA for authorisation to issue plant passports. An element of the authorisation process is to designate a technically experienced person who is responsible for passporting and associated plant health matters on the premises. In order to retain their authorisation producers must be inspected at least twice a year by the PHSI. One of these inspections will take place during the period of growth of the plants and the other at the time of despatch of material, including a check of records and documentation. If at any time a registered plant passporter is shown to be deliberately falsifying information or contravening the passporting regulations, his authorisation to issue plant passports may be withdrawn.
	PHSI are normally graduates and invariably have a background or qualification in horticulture or agriculture. On appointment they receive a period of intensive training, which will include plant, pest and disease identification, familiarisation with the legislation under which they will operate, plant passporting and export certification arrangements etc. On completion of this formal training they shadow experienced Inspectors for a further period of field-based training, including visits to plant passporting and/or exporting nurseries. Identification of fireblight hosts is included as part of this general training.

Flooding

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been allocated to complete the Morecambe sea defence scheme; and when work will commence.

Elliot Morley: Defra approved the final two phases of the Morecambe coastal works for grant aid in October this year. Lancaster city council is currently running a procurement exercise to secure a contractor and they expect to start work in this financial year. The amount of Government grant will reflect the price negotiated as part of the procurement process.

Foot and Mouth

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what payments to contractors who undertook work for the Government during the foot and mouth outbreak are outstanding; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Invoices to the value of £5.1 million remain disputed and unpaid. The Department is disputing payment in those cases where it believes on the basis of the quantum, accounting, technical and legal advice it has received that it was overcharged for goods, services and works during the foot and mouth disease outbreak.
	In all other cases, the Department has paid businesses for the goods, services and works provided at its request in connection with the outbreak in 2001.

Gershon Review

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made, in terms of (a) headcount reductions and (b) cost savings, in achieving the efficiency objectives set for the Department by the Gershon review.

Jim Knight: Progress on achieving the efficiency objectives set for the Department by the Gershon review was reported in Budget 2005 and in the departmental annual report. The latter can be viewed on Defra's website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/deprep/default.htm. It contains details of headcount reductions and cost savings. Further progress will be reported in the autumn performance reports and at aggregate level in the pre-Budget report.

Gershon Review

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who in the Department has been made responsible for achieving the efficiency objectives set for the Department by the Gershon review.

Jim Knight: The right hon. Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is responsible for the overall delivery of the Department's efficiency programme.
	Lord Bach, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for sustainable farming and food has specific responsibility for efficiency. Ministers' biographical details can be viewed at www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/ministers/index.asp.

Greenhouse Emissions

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assumptions of economic growth were made when setting the targets for the reduction of greenhouse emissions.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	The central economic growth assumption was for a long term growth rate of 2.35 per cent. per annum. The sensitivity of projected emissions to possible alternative outcomes for economic growth was examined by analysis using assumed low and high growth rates of 1.75 per cent. and 2.85 per cent. per annum respectively.

Household Waste

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which local authorities have a fortnightly collection of household waste.

Ben Bradshaw: A number of local authorities operate partial fortnightly collections. Some of their properties receive a fortnightly collection and the remainder are weekly, or they operate an alternating system with residual waste collected one week followed by a collection of recyclable material in the following week.
	No central source holds the information requested but the waste and resources action programme have provided the information given in the table.
	Position at September 2004
	Alnwick District Council
	Ashfield District Council
	Babergh District Council
	Bassetlaw District Council
	Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council
	Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
	Blyth Valley Borough Council
	Boston Borough Council
	Braintree District Council
	Breckland District Council
	Broadland District Council
	Bromsgrove District Council
	Broxtowe Borough Council
	Castle Morpeth Borough Council
	Cherwell District Council
	Chesterfield Borough Council
	Chichester District Council
	Copeland Borough Council
	Dacorum Borough Council
	Daventry District Council
	Derby City Council
	East Hampshire District Council
	Eastleigh Borough Council
	Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council
	Erewash Borough Council
	Exeter City Council
	Forest Heath District Council
	Fylde Borough Council
	Gedling Borough Council
	Gosport Borough Council
	Hambleton District Council
	Harborough District Council
	Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council
	Huntingdonshire District Council
	Hyndburn Borough Council
	Ipswich Borough Council
	Lancaster City Council
	Lichfield District Council
	Mansfield District Council
	Melton Borough Council
	Mid Suffolk District Council
	Mole Valley District Council
	North Devon District Council
	North Lincolnshire Council
	North Norfolk District Council
	North West Leicestershire District Council
	Northampton Borough Council
	Nottingham City Council
	Oswestry Borough Council
	Peterborough City Council
	Preston City Council
	Rochford District Council
	Rossendale Borough Council
	Rushcliffe Borough Council
	Ryedale District Council
	Scarborough Borough Council
	South Cambridgeshire District Council
	South Derbyshire District Council
	South Gloucestershire Council
	South Lakeland District Council
	South Norfolk District Council
	South Northamptonshire Council
	St. Edmondsbury Borough Council
	Swale Borough Council
	Tamworth Borough Council
	Teignbridge District Council
	Telford and Wrekin Borough Council
	Tonbridge and Mailing Borough Council
	Torbay Council
	Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
	Tynedale District Council
	Vale Royal Borough Council .
	Wansbeck District Council
	Waveney District Council
	Wealden District Council
	Wellingborough Borough Council
	Woking Borough Council
	Wycombe District Council
	Wyre Forest District Council
	Position at September 2005
	Alnwick District Council
	Ashfield District Council
	Babergh District Council
	Bassetlaw District Council
	Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council
	Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
	Blyth Valley Borough Council
	Boston Borough Council
	Braintree District Council
	Breckland District Council
	Broadland District Council
	Bromsgrove District Council
	Broxtowe Borough Council
	Castle Morpeth Borough Council
	Cherwell District Council
	Chesterfield Borough Council
	Chichester District Council
	Copeland Borough Council
	Dacorum Borough Council
	Daventry District Council
	Derby City Council
	East Hampshire District Council
	Eastleigh Borough Council
	Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council
	Erewash Borough Council
	Exeter City Council
	Forest Heath District Council
	Fylde Borough Council
	Gedling Borough Council
	Gosport Borough Council
	Hambleton District Council
	Harborough District Council
	Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council
	Huntingdonshire District Council
	Hyndburn Borough Council
	Ipswich Borough Council
	Lancaster City Council
	Lichfield District Council
	Mansfield District Council
	Melton Borough Council
	Mid Suffolk District Council
	Mole Valley District Council
	North Devon District Council
	North Lincolnshire Council
	North Norfolk District Council
	North West Leicestershire District Council
	Northampton Borough Council
	Nottingham City Council
	Oswestry Borough Council
	Peterborough City Council
	Preston City Council
	Rochford District Council
	Rossendale Borough Council
	Rushcliffe Borough Council
	Ryedale District Council
	Scarborough Borough Council
	South Cambridgeshire District Council
	South Derbyshire District Council
	South Gloucestershire Council
	South Lakeland District Council
	South Norfolk District Council
	South Northamptonshire Council
	St. Edmondsbury Borough Council
	Swale Borough Council
	Tamworth Borough Council
	Teignbridge District Council
	Telford and Wrekin Borough Council
	Tonbridge and Mailing Borough Council
	Torbay Council
	Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
	Tynedale District Council
	Vale Royal Borough Council .
	Wansbeck District Council
	Waveney District Council
	Wealden District Council
	Wellingborough Borough Council
	Woking Borough Council
	Wycombe District Council
	Wyre Forest District Council
	Bolton Borough Council
	Burnley Borough Council
	Chiltern District Council 1
	Great Yarmouth Borough Council
	Macclesfield Borough Council
	Mendip District Council
	Mid Devon District Council 2
	Newark and Sherwood District Council
	North Kesteven District Council
	Shepway District Council
	South Buckinghamshire District Council 1
	South Hams District Council 2
	South Somerset District Council
	Taunton Deane Borough Council
	West Wiltshire District Council 3
	North Shropshire District Council 2
	1 Trial taking place
	2 Planning to introduce or just starting to introduce a fortnightly collection.
	3 Fortnightly collection only partly rolled out across a local authority.

Literacy and Numeracy

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many employees in her Department requested training to improve their (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills in each year since 2002.

Jim Knight: DEFRA runs a centrally funded Adult Further Education scheme which offers 100 per cent. funding to members of staff who wish to do a GCSE level qualification for numeracy, literacy or another key skill area. Every applicant who has applied for a numeracy/literacy qualification or course has had their costs fully funded centrally.
	We are also supporting a number of employees for whom English is not their first language through 'English for Speakers of Other Languages' (ESOL) courses. Delegates can take nationally recognised tests at two levels, the higher of which is the equivalent of a GCSE pass at grade A-C.
	In the current financial year DEFRA is also assisting six members of staff in undertaking London Public Sector Apprenticeships which contain modules on numeracy and literacy.
	The current take up figures for these schemes are as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Numeracy Literacy 
		
		
			 2003–04 1 — 
			 2004–05 1 1 
			 2005(1) 4 — 
			 2005(1) — (2)19 
			 2005(1) — (3)6 
		
	
	(1) To date.
	(2) ESOL.
	(3) Apprenticeships.
	DEFRA operates devolved learning and development budgets so there may be additional staff who request (and obtain) numeracy and literacy training from their own business unit budgets, however, these are not recorded centrally at present.

Literacy and Numeracy

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to promote uptake of the national tests in adult literacy and numeracy among employees of her Department.

Jim Knight: DEFRA has used a wide range of methods to promote the uptake of the national tests in adult literacy and numeracy among our employees.
	These include the dissemination of promotional material and information, including posters, CD Roms and leaflets across DEFRA sites via our network of Training Co-ordinators and through close liaison with the PCS Union Learning Representatives (ULRs).
	In addition, information has been posted on our learning and development website and also on the PCS Union Learning Representatives web pages.
	Presentations and facilitated discussions have been undertaken at a Training Co-ordinators conference, where co-ordinators were informed about the national tests and were given the opportunity to test their numeracy and literacy skills. These sessions were intended to enable the co-ordinators to encourage uptake among staff in their local business areas in DEFRA.
	DEFRA have also held numerous 'drop-in' sessions in York and London where staff could find information and talk to learning and development advisers about all aspects of learning and development, including numeracy and literacy.

Literacy and Numeracy

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department spent on in-house training on (a) literacy and (b) numeracy (i) in total and (ii) per head in each year since 2002.

Jim Knight: DEFRA operates a centrally funded Adult Further Education scheme which offers 100 per cent. funding to members of staff who wish to do a GCSE level qualification for numeracy, literacy or any other key skill area. Every applicant who has applied for a numeracy/literacy qualification or course has had their costs fully funded.
	DEFRA has spent £3,200 on in-house training in literacy and numeracy under the Adult Further Education scheme since the financial year 2003 (the first year for which figures are available). This can be broken down into financial years as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Numeracy Cost per head (£) Literacy Cost per head (£) 
		
		
			 2003–04 1 128.80 —  
			 2004–05 1 328.80 1 500.00 
			 2005 (to date) 4 560.70 —  
		
	
	We are also supporting a number of employees for whom English is not their first language through 'English for Speakers of Other Languages' (ESOL) courses. Delegates can take nationally recognised tests at two levels, the higher of which is the equivalent of a GCSE pass at grade A-C. The courses are funded by the Learning Skills Council.
	In the current financial year DEFRA is also assisting six members of staff in undertaking London Public Sector Apprenticeships which contain modules on numeracy and literacy. These are also funded by the Learning Skills Council.
	Additionally, literacy and numeracy skills are embedded in DEFRA's programme of centrally funded in-house communication skills and financial management courses which will assist the development of an individual's skills in these areas. Unfortunately, it is not practical to cost out the literacy and numeracy elements in these courses.
	DEFRA operates devolved learning and development budgets so there may be staff who request (and obtain) numeracy and literacy training from their own business unit budgets which are not recorded centrally at present.

Milk Prices

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government have calculated a figure for a fair price for a litre of milk.

Jim Knight: The price of milk at producer, processor and retail level is determined by the market. It is not for Government to determine price.

Milk Prices

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) highest, (b) average and (c) lowest price paid per litre to farms for milk was in 2004–05.

Jim Knight: The Milk Development Council's Datum website shows the highest annual average farm gate milk price for the past 12 months was 21.62 pence per litre (ppl), the average price was 18.96 ppl, and the lowest 17.11 ppl.
	The average price is calculated as a raw average of the 40 contracts shown on the latest price notice, irrespective of contract volumes (i.e. not a weighted average).

Milk Prices

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average (a) farm gate price of a litre of milk, (b) cost of producing a litre of milk and (c) retail price for a litre of milk was in each year between 1984 and 2004.

Jim Knight: The information is as follows:
	
		Farm gate prices -- Pence per litre
		
			  Excluding any retrospective bonus payments made by purchasers Including retrospective bonus payments made by purchasers 
		
		
			 2001 19.13 19.26 
			 2002 17.05 17.10 
			 2003 18.01 18.03 
			 2004(4) 18.45 18.47 
			
			 2004(4)   
			 August 18.49 18.51 
			 September 19.48 19.49 
			 October 19.51 19.53 
			 November 19.48 19.50 
			 December 18.92 18.94 
			
			 2005   
			 January 18.52 18.54 
			 February 18.31 18.34 
			 March 18.32 18.33 
			 April 17.58 17.60 
			 May 17.11 17.12 
			 June 17.30 17.31 
			 July 18.05 18.07 
			 August 18.45 18.47 
		
	
	(4) Data from this point are provisional.
	Source:
	DEFRA
	The table shows monthly average farm gate milk prices in pence per litre for the last thirteen months for the United Kingdom, and weighted annual averages for 2001 to 2004. The average prices are calculated from monthly surveys of milk purchasers conducted in England and Wales by DEFRA, in Scotland by SEERAD and in Northern Ireland by DARD. The size of the sample surveyed is estimated to account for 99 per cent. of milk production this month. The farm gate price is the average price received by producers, net of delivery charges. No deduction has been made for superlevy.
	The University of Manchester report The Economics of Milk Production England and Wales 2002/03", commissioned by DEFRA and the Welsh Assembly Government, calculated the average weighted cost of production to be 18.33 pence per litre. However the report also found that there is a huge disparity in the costs of production and profitability between the most and least efficient dairy farmers. The 25 per cent. of farmers with the lowest cost of production were producing milk for an average 12 pence per litre less than the 25 per cent. with the highest costs. Data on production costs broken down by year are not available.
	The average UK retail price of whole milk are available from 1986 onwards:
	
		
			  Pence per litre 
		
		
			 1986 42.1 
			 1987 44.4 
			 1988 45.8 
			 1989 49.3 
			 1990 54.5 
			 1991 56.3 
			 1992 59.8 
			 1993 59.8 
			 1994 63.3 
			 1995 63.3 
			 1996 63.3 
			 1997 61.6 
			 1998 59.8 
			 1999 59.8 
			 2000 59.8 
			 2001 65.1 
			 2002 63.3 
			 2003 64.4 
			 2004 61.9 
			 2005 (average to September) 61.4 
		
	
	Note:
	The price is an average of shop bought and delivered whole milk.
	Source:
	ONS

National Equine Database

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what account was taken of the free availability of similar information from other sources when deciding to charge a fee for use of the National Equine Database.

Jim Knight: The National Equine Database is being established jointly between Defra and the horse industry as it will help to meet Government objectives over passports and disease surveillance and the industry's own objectives to improve its prospects by enhancing breeding. Information about pedigree and performance can be commercially valuable and, although Defra will meet its share of future running costs, the industry will need to cover its costs. Our initial research did show that some basic information is available free from other sources, as it will be from NED. A recent study commissioned jointly with the industry indicated that the combination of the quality and accessibility of the information on the database will enable its costs to be recovered from fees.

Over-30-month Scheme

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to amend the over 30 months scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The over 30 months scheme is expected to continue after the OTM Rule is lifted on 7 November until the beginning of January 2006 at the earliest. It will then be replaced by a voluntary three-year scheme (the older cattle disposal scheme) to dispose of cattle born before 1 August 1996 which are permanently excluded from the food chain.

Pesticide

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how long she expects the voluntary initiative on pesticide use to stay in place; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The voluntary initiative on pesticides is due to conclude in March 2006. The position beyond this date will depend on the Government's evaluation of the environmental benefits delivered and on the initiative's proposals for future work. We expect new proposals from the Voluntary Initiative Steering Group on future targets and how the initiative proposes to meet those targets by the end of the year.

Poultry Meat

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from which countries imports of poultry meat to the United Kingdom are banned.

Ben Bradshaw: Only countries specifically approved to export poultry meat to the EU may do so. Those countries must also have EU approved establishments for slaughtering, cutting and storing fresh poultry meat. Currently the only countries with such premises are Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Israel, Romania and Thailand.
	Some of these approved countries are currently experiencing outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). They are China, Thailand, Romania and Croatia. We have banned imports of all live birds and related products (including poultry meat) from those countries. There are no specific bans with respect to HPAI from countries where trade is already prohibited by EU legislation.

Radioactivity

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 14 October 2005, Official Report, column 617W, on radioactivity, whether (a) national Governments and (b) industry regulators appointed by them will make the ultimate decision on whether a meter installed under Article 13 of the Energy End Use and Energy Services Directive should be deemed to be technically feasible and cost effective.

Elliot Morley: Article 13(1) of the draft directive would place an obligation on member states, i.e. national Governments, to ensure that, in so far as that is technically possible, financially reasonable and proportionate in relation to potential savings, final customers are provided with competitively priced individual meters that accurately reflect actual energy consumption and that provide information on actual time of use. If this obligation is included in the final text of the directive, the Government's proposals for implementation will be the subject of formal consultation in due course.

Recycling

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of household waste each local authority in England recycled in 2004–05.

Ben Bradshaw: Information on recycling from individual local authorities for 2004–05 is not yet available.
	Local authority Best Value Performance Indicators for 2004–05, which include information on household waste recycling rates will be available on 15 December from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website at: www.bvpi.gov.uk

Recycling

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of household waste each council in the Yorkshire and Humber region recycled in the last period for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The latest information on household recycling rates (including composting) are from the 2003–04 DEFRA municipal waste management survey. Full list of household recycling rates for individual local authorities can be found on the DEFRA website:
	www.defraweb/environment/statistics/wastats/mwb0304/download/annexb.xIs

Renewable Energy

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether the Government have a renewable heat strategy;
	(2)  what assessment her Department has made of the effect on carbon emissions of carbon renewable heat generation.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are presently developing their strategy regarding renewable heat. To inform that process, the Department commissioned with DEFRA a study from Future Energy Systems (FES) to specifically assess the heat sector, the scope it offers for carbon savings and to analyse scope for future Government support. That report is now being considered as part of the work of the climate change programme review. The FES study can be viewed on the DTI website at www.dti.gov.uk 'Heat Study.'
	The Government are also be considering the recommendations of the biomass task force in this area, whose report to Government was published on 25 October 2005. The report can be viewed on the DEFRA website at www.Defra.gov.uk 'Biomass Report.'

Renewable Energy

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many renewable obligation certificates went to biomass crop-fuelled generation in each year of the operation of the renewables obligation; and how many of these went to co-fired generation.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) are responsible for the administration of the renewables obligation. Information on renewable obligation certificates (ROCs), issued by generation technology on a monthly basis, is published in Ofgem's annual report on the renewables obligation. While Ofgem's annual report provides a breakdown of ROCs issued for biomass and co-firing generation, it does not distinguish between different fuel sources like crops.
	Ofgem's first annual report on the renewables obligation, covering the obligation period from 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003, was published in February 2004. The second annual report, covering the obligation period from 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 was published in February 2005. Copies of the annual reports are available from Ofgem's website (www.ofgem.gov.uk).

Renewable Energy

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment the Government have made of the carbon abatement which may be achieved by using biodegradable municipal waste to generate heat.

Margaret Beckett: The Department of Trade and Industry recently published a report on renewable heat, which estimated that the net carbon savings from generating heat from the biomass fraction of municipal solid waste would amount to 61kgC/MWh compared to using oil to produce heat and 46 kgC/MWh compared to gas. The report is available at: http://www.dti.gov.uk/renewables/policy_pdfs/heatreportfinal.pdf

Snares

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent research she has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the danger to (i) badgers, (ii) livestock and (iii) domestic animals from snares.

Jim Knight: DEFRA commissioned an independent working group on snares to examine all issues surrounding the snaring of foxes and rabbits. The group included experts on both animal welfare and wildlife management. The group's report has been published which contains a section examining the risks snares pose to non-target species such as badgers, livestock and domestic animals. In response to the report, DEFRA has published a code of good practice on the use of snares in fox and rabbit control and a DEFRA snares action plan. The documents may be found on:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/vertebrates/snares/index.htm

UK Carbon Emissions

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what emission factors are used in the calculation of UK carbon emissions from natural gas.

Margaret Beckett: The time series of natural gas carbon emissions factors for each year from 1990 to 2003 in kilotonne carbon per megatherm fuel consumed (kt/Mtherm fuel consumed) is shown in the following table. The time series of UK specific emissions factors is derived from the recent review of carbon emission factors and is used in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
	
		
			  Natural gas emissions factor (kt/Mtherm fuel consumed) 
		
		
			 1990 1.44939 
			 1991 1.45219 
			 1992 1.45500 
			 1993 1.45780 
			 1994 1.46061 
			 1995 1.46392 
			 1996 1.46723 
			 1997 1.47097 
			 1998 1.47471 
			 1999 1.48133 
			 2000 1.47557 
			 2001 1.47715 
			 2002 1.47874 
			 2003 1.48046

UK Exports (Australia)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the effect of the introduction of origin labelling in Australia on UK exports to that country.

Jim Knight: The objectives of the amendments to country of origin labelling in Australia and New Zealand are to provide consumers with adequate information to make informed choices and to bring existing country of origin labelling in those countries into line with World Trade Organisation agreements. The Government do not envisage that the changes will have a significant effect on UK exports to these markets.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date the new treatment standards for waste electrical and electronic equipment will be published; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: We expect to publish guidance on the selective treatment requirements set out in Annex II of Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) at the same time as we make regulations to transpose the treatment permitting requirements of the directive. The guidance is being amended in the light of comments received during an earlier consultation by the Environment Agency and will be available in good time for the implementation of the directive's producer responsibility obligations in respect of WEEE in June 2006.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Africa

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes of policy he expects will be made to give developing countries the freedom and flexibility implied in paragraph 31 of the G8 communique on Africa.

Ian Pearson: The Government have already announced changes to policy on debt relief and aid conditionally. In March the Government launched a new policy Partnerships for poverty reduction—rethinking conditionally".
	In trade negotiations, no concessions should be demanded from least developed countries. We will strive to ensure that all developing countries have the flexibility to plan and sequence liberalisation in line with national development plans through appropriate special and differential treatment provisions.

Bechtel

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the final cost was of the Bechtel consultancy on the British nuclear industry; and if he will publish the full report from Bechtel.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 1 November 2005
	Bechtel advised the Department, by means of a contract for services, on matters relating to arrangements for setting up the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Services under the contract included providing strategic management, and direct technical and commercial functions to both the Department and the 'shadow' NDA. The contract was signed on 12 August 2002 and was novated to the NDA on 25 May 2005. The final cost was £23.16 million. The Department did not request a report to be prepared.
	Background to the creation of the NDA can be found on its website at www.nda.gov.uk

Bechtel

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultancy projects Bechtel is undertaking for his Department.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 1 November 2005
	The Department has no consultancy projects with Bechtel at the present time.

Bolton Business Ventures

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what fund will replace the Phoenix Fund in relation to Bolton Business Ventures Ltd.

Alun Michael: holding answer 3 November 2005
	The Phoenix Fund was created in 2000 to stimulate enterprise in disadvantaged communities by providing business support and by improving access to finance. It was always intended to be a pump priming measure and was not designed to provide long-term or core funding for business support organisations.
	Responsibility for regional economic development and business support now lies with the Regional Development Agencies. However, the Government have introduced the Community Investment Tax Relief to enable organisations like Bolton Business Ventures to raise further finance from the private sector to lend on to small businesses.

BREEAM98

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what rating has been attained under the most recent assessment of the application of BREEAM98.

Alan Johnson: The most recent BREEAM assessment on the DTI HQ Estate was in 1996, when the major refurbishment of 1 Victoria street achieved a very good rating.

British Steel Industry

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the outcome was of the consultation conducted by his Department on the impact of proposed new Eurocodes on the British steel industry.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	Government does not consult on the structural Eurocodes as these are industry standards and guidance, and public consultation is carried out by the British Standards Institute.

Businesses (Knowledge Transfer)

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much businesses received through (a) collaborative research and development, (b) transfer networks and (c) knowledge transfer partnerships in (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) Scotland in each of the last 10 years.

Alan Johnson: The information is as follows:
	(a) Collaborative Research and Development:
	These are the sums made available through the DTI contributions to LINK and the current grant for collaborative R&D product.
	
		£000
		
			   UK grants Grants to Scottish-based businesses 
		
		
			 1988–99 44,679 2,278 
			 1999–2000 6,768 345 
			 2000–01 7,399 377 
			 2001–02 7,824 399 
			 2002–03 7,809 398 
			 2003–04 8,375 427 
			 2004–05 7,763 396 
			 Total 90,618 4,620

Clear Skies and Solar Photovoltaics

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact on (a) jobs and (b) investment in the UK micro-renewables sector of the decision to end the Clear Skies and Solar Photovoltaics Major Demonstration Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 27 October 2005
	The Clear Skies and Solar PV Programme have contributed to the development of the micro-generation industry in the UK, including an installer base. The new Low Carbon Buildings Programme will continue to fund the installation of micro-generation technologies in household, community and large-scale projects. The micro-generation strategy will look at removing some of the wider barriers currently hindering market development.

Clear Skies and Solar Photovoltaics

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to minimise the gap between the end of the Clear Skies and Solar Photovoltaics Major Demonstration Programme and the start of funding allocations under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 27 October 2005
	£1.5 million has been brought forward from the £30 million for the Low Carbon Buildings Programme to minimise any potential funding gap between the existing and new programme.

Correspondence

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to improve the Department's performance in replying to hon. Members' correspondence;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to improve the Department's performance in replying to correspondence from members of the public.

Alan Johnson: Every effort is made to handle all correspondence effectively and efficiently.
	All correspondence from hon. Members and Peers is handled in accordance with the principles set out in 'Handling Correspondence from Members of Parliament, Members of the House of Lords, MEPs and Members of Devolved Assemblies: Guidance for Departments'. The same principles apply when handling correspondence from members of the public.
	Information relating to the performance of departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence is published on an annual basis. The Report for 2004 was published on 6 April 2005, Official Report, columns 137–40WS.
	My Department has recently centralised correspondence and inquiry handling within a new DTI Response Centre. I believe that this will deliver a better performance in responding to Members' correspondence.

Correspondence

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will reply to the letters of 26 May 2005 and 25 July 2005 from the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells on regulation.

Alan Johnson: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Competitiveness, responded to these letters on 23 September.

Departmental Energy Consumption

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much energy has been consumed by his Department in each of the last five years; and how much was spent on energy in each year.

Alan Johnson: During the period April 2000 to March 2005 the Department consumed gas and electricity as is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Electricity Mwh Electricity Cost (£000) Gas Mwh Gas Cost (£000) 
		
		
			 2004–05 17,190 1,050 6,755 120 
			 2003–04 18,010 957 6,961 137 
			 2002–03 17,087 942 7,924 103 
			 2001–02 17,776 855 7,802 121 
			 2000–01 18,532 929 8,422 115

Departmental Land

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) land and (b) property his Department owns in Kettering constituency.

Alan Johnson: The DTI administrative estate does not include any land or property in the Kettering constituency.

Departmental Spending

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much his Department spent on items of art in 2004–05.

Alan Johnson: My Department has not incurred any expenditure in 2004–05 on items of art.

Departmental Staff Secondment

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many departmental staff are attached or seconded to small businesses as part of their career development; and which sectors they work in.

Alan Johnson: There are currently two staff on secondment from the Department of Trade and Industry to small businesses as part of their career development; one to the financial services sector and one to the retail and wholesale sector.
	Small companies have shown limited interest in taking secondees from the Department. This may be due to cost implications as the Department seeks full salary reimbursement for all outward secondments.
	However, the Department also operates a scheme under which all senior civil servants are required to spend at least one week in a business per year as part of their career development; these businesses often include small businesses across all sectors.

Diesel

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with EU colleagues on strategies to bulk purchase diesel; and what assessment he has made of the likely impact of bulk purchasing on cross-European diesel prices.

Malcolm Wicks: There have been no such discussions. Recent changes in European diesel prices reflect developments in the international oil market rather than changes in purchasing strategies. International oil prices have been high due to general tightness in the oil market caused by strong global demand growth.
	Member states of the European Union and the International Energy Agency (IEA) hold emergency oil stocks for release in the event of an international oil supply disruption. The recent co-ordinated response by the UK and other IEA countries made extra supplies available to the market to help it respond more effectively to the disruption caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Displaced Workers (Coventry)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to expand skills retraining services for displaced workers in Coventry.

Alun Michael: holding answer 3 November 2005
	The Learning and Skills Council and Job Centre Plus work together to ensure there are a range of opportunities available to support individuals being displaced as a result of redundancies. In conjunction with FE colleges and training providers they ensure that training opportunities are available for those who wish to retrain.
	A number of specific measures have been put in place to ensure that Coventry workers displaced as a result of large scale redundancies such as MG Rover, Peugeot and Marconi have access to skills retraining services. This includes securing additional funds as appropriate for example through Rapid Response, European Funding and Advantage West Midlands (RDA) to provide support that cannot be funded through mainstream funds.

E-mail Scams

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the amount of money fraudulently obtained from UK consumers through e-mail scams in each of the past 10 years.

Alun Michael: The Office of Fair Trading estimates that the UK consumers lose up to £1 billion per year to a variety of scams, but is unable to provide a reliable estimate of how much was obtained specifically from e-mail scams.

India

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value was of (a) imports from India to the UK and (b) exports to India from the UK in each of the last five years.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 3 November 2005
	The value of (a) imports from India to the UK and (b) exports to India from the UK in each of the last five years is set out in the table:
	
		UK trade in goods with India -- £ million
		
			  UK Imports UK Exports 
		
		
			 2000 1,712 2,056 
			 2001 1,884 1,781 
			 2002 1,870 1,768 
			 2003 2,147 2,293 
			 2004 2,340 2,243 
		
	
	For the period January to July 2005, the value of Imports from India to the UK, in millions, was 1,629; an increase of 23 per cent. based on the corresponding period for 2004. For the same period, the value of exports to India from the UK was 1,643; an increase of 26 per cent. based on the corresponding period for 2004.

India

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of his Department's trade missions involving representatives from companies there have been to India in each of the last five years.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 3 November 2005
	The total number of outward trade missions from the UK to India during the last five years is 173 1 . The total number of companies that accompanied these missions is 1,148 2 . A breakdown of the number of missions to each post during each of the last five years is set out in the table. The table also includes the total number of companies accompanying these missions.
	1 There are no records available of the number of missions that visited New Delhi and Kolkata in 2000.This may affect slightly the total number of Missions to India during the last five years.
	2 There are no records available of the number of companies that accompanied missions to New Delhi and Kom to India during the last five years.
	
		
			  New Delhi Mumbai (inc. Ahmedabad) Kolkata Chennai (inc. Bangalore and Hyderabad) Total 
		
		
			 2000 No records available 16 No records available 8 24 
			 Number of UK companies — 176  12 188 
			   
			 2001 1 1 1 3 6 
			 Number of UK companies 2 9 9 19 39 
			   
			 2002 27 9 1 12 49 
			 Number of UK companies 115 49 8 112 284 
			   
			 2003 22 11 0 12 45 
			 Number of UK companies 144 64 0 113 321 
			   
			 2004 20 11 2 16 49 
			 Number of UK companies 118 59 2 137 316

International Trade Agreements

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking towards ensuring that developing countries are not obliged to open up their markets through international trade agreements.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 3 November 2005
	The Government opposes forced opening of developing country markets through trade agreements or aid conditionality. We continue to work with the European Commission and the other member states to secure ambitious, pro-development trade agreements with developing countries.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the budget is for the low carbon buildings programme.

Malcolm Wicks: The budget for the new programme is £30 million over three years.

Miners' Compensation

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total value is of compensation payments paid to former miners in the Rotherham metropolitan borough council area since 2000.

Malcolm Wicks: The total paid in compensation to former miners and their families in Rotherham borough constituency since 1 January 2000 is £10.4 million.

Nuclear Power

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether any assessment has been made of the political stability of countries containing potential sources of uranium for use in the UK's nuclear power reactors.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has carried out no assessment of the political stability of countries that may be potential sources of uranium for the UK's civilian nuclear power reactors.
	Currently the majority of uranium for the UK's civilian nuclear power reactors is sourced from Australia and Canada.

Oil Imports and Exports

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in which years since 1997 the UK has been a net oil (a) exporter and (b) importer, giving the quantity of oil in each case.

Malcolm Wicks: Figures for UK oil imports and exports are routinely published in the DTIs annual Digest of UK Energy Statistics and quarterly Energy Trends publications. The UK has been a net exporter of oil (crude and products) since the early 1980s. Annual figures for 1997 to 2004 are shown in the following table with net imports denoted by a minus (-) sign.
	
		Net exports of oil -- Million tonnes
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Crude oil and natural gas liquids 36.8 43.5 49.6 41.2 35.4 33.0 23.9 7.5 
			 Refinery feedstocks -7.4 -6.9 -2.6 -2.7 -2.1 -2.8 -3.2 -5.6 
			 Petroleum products 18.1 13.0 7.8 6.5 1.6 8.1 6.0 10.8 
			 Overall oil 47.5 49.6 54.8 45.0 34.9 38.3 26.7 12.7 
		
	
	Source:
	Digest of UK Energy Statistics
	UK crude oil production peaked in 1999 and has declined subsequently. The 2003 Energy White Paper noted that the UK is expected to become a net importer of oil by around 2010.

Post Offices

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) sub-post offices and (b) post offices there were in (i) the UK and (ii) Westmorland and Lonsdale in each year since 1997.

Barry Gardiner: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. (POL). I have therefore asked David Mills, the chief executive of POL, to provide a direct reply to the hon. Member.

Regional Development Agencies

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list (a) enterprise gateways, (b) enterprise hatcheries and (c) enterprise hubs in each regional development agency; and which of them are based in (i) stand alone and (ii) shared premises.

Alun Michael: holding answer 25 October 2005
	I have asked each regional development agency to provide me with the relevant information about the region's activities. I will write to the hon. Member when I have the necessary information and place a copy of the letter in the Libraries of the House.

Regional Development Agencies

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money each regional development agency has spent on (a) providing, (b) designing, (c) constructing and (d) erecting (i) sculptures and (ii) statues in their region in the last five years for which figures are available.

Alun Michael: holding answer 25 October 2005
	Some of England's regional development agencies (RDAs) have commissioned sculptures and statues in their regions over the last five years as part of their wider efforts to regenerate deprived or run down areas, consistent with RDAs' statutory purposes set out in the RDAs Act 1998. Making the places where people live and work more attractive, can stimulate increased business investment, and community cohesion. Works of art also play a part in making business paths more attractive and assisting with inward investment and in promoting tourism and interpretation of historic areas and landscapes. RDAs play an important role in such developments, often working in partnership with business, local government and other public and voluntary organisations in order to promote the region and its economy.
	Advantage West Midlands (AWM)
	Public art plays a role in the West Midlands's regeneration and small area redevelopment. It is very rare that Advantage West Midlands directly funds public art but it contributes to schemes and developments which have an element of public art as part of the overall project.
	East of England Development Agency (EEDA)
	EEDA do not provide finance for stand alone sculptural pieces.
	East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA)
	EMDA have not commissioned or erected statues or sculpture in its region.
	London Development Agency (LDA)
	The LDA have contributed to the commissioning of statues through its Single Regeneration Budget programmes:
	Public Roundabout Upgrade (Dagenham)—£110,000
	CEME Phase 2 Lighting Sculpture (Havering)—£56,000
	Bobby Moore Statue, (Green Street)—£103,027
	Royal Docks Statue in Canning Town—£25,000
	Royal Arsenal Plinth—£25,000 for the cleaning, repairing, moving and erecting the Duke of Wellington Statue on to the raised park at the Royal Arsenal.
	One North East (ONE)
	One North East have spent the following amounts on purchasing/commissioning sculptures in the region in the last five years:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 Being Human 40,800 
			 Generation 62,326 
			 Windmills 30,000 
		
	
	South West of England Regional Development Agency (SWERDA)
	SWERDA have spent the following amounts on purchasing/commissioning sculpture in the last five years, as part of wider regeneration projects:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2005–06 280,000 
			 2004–05 436,857 
			 2002–03 5,000 
			 2000–01 600,000 
		
	
	North West Development Agency (NWDA)
	
		
			   Sculpture/statue   Location NWDA investment (£) 
		
		
			 B of the Bang Beswick, East Manchester 500,000 
			 Sycamore Manchester 20,000 
			 Rochdale Olympics Rochdale 50,000 
			 Gateway Statue Ellesmere Port town centre 80,848 
			 Meadow Lane screen Ellesmere Port town centre 49,148 
			 Herdi (Herdwick sheep) Cockermouth 27,000 
			 Spirit of Barrow Barrow 45,000 
			 Willie Home Statue Barrow 40,000 
			 Owl Statue Jubilee Woodland, Sefton 5,000 
			 Another Place Crosby Beach, Sefton 90,000 
			 The Mersey Wave Speke-Garston 1,350,000 
			 Chinese Arch Liverpool 386,000 
			 New Brighton Pierrot New Brighton 38,000 
			 Splash Statue National Football Museum, Preston 90,000 
			 Futures Park Bacup 5,608 
			 Arts in the Forest East Lancashire 5,572 
			 Panopticons(5) East Lancashire 600,000 
			 Thunderbird 3 Blackpool 15,000 
			 Blackpool Circus Blackpool 100,000 
			 Great Promenade show Blackpool 46,095 
			 Blackburn town centre Blackburn 100,000 
			 Mirrorball Blackpool n/a 
			 Penelope Wolstenholme Square, Liverpool n/a 
			 Total(6)  3,643,271 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	(5) Panopticons: NWDA has approved £600,000 for this project, which has yet to complete. Spend to date is £273,833.
	(6) Total does not include Mirrorball and Penelope—details of these projects are not available at present.
	South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA)
	SEEDA do not directly commission any sculptures or statues for the region.
	Yorkshire Forward
	Yorkshire Forward have commissioned the following projects:
	Transformation
	Commission to Public Arts for temporary sculptural installation in two towns. Cost to Yorkshire Forward £38,938, with £5,000 worth of staff time, therefore total investment of £43,938.
	The Green
	Commission to Public Arts for temporary installation in five towns. Cost to Yorkshire Forward £106,410 plus £15,000 staff time, therefore total investment of £121,410.
	Island Wharf
	The first phase of the Humber Quays project which is part of the broader City Centre Masterplan for Hull has £50,000 spent on the following: Sculptural Wave Wall in the plaza—approximately £40,000 including lighting; Sea Trek Statue—reset on a new granite plinth with lighting approximately £10,000.
	Bronze Fisherman Statue
	Through the Community Intervention Chest in 2002–03 the Grimsby Fishermen's memorial fund were awarded £5,000 towards the costs incurred in the commissioning of the bronze fisherman Statue in Grimsby.
	John Wesley Statue
	This Statue was also funded through the Community Intervention Chest, but our details are limited. It is believed they were awarded the maximum £5,000 and the Statue was erected in Epworth.

Renewable Energy

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the final funding settlement is for the renewables industry in the current funding programme for renewable energy.

Malcolm Wicks: I assume the question refers to the low carbon buildings programme, which is due to start in April 2006, subject to state aids clearance and for which the Government have just announced a budget of £30 million over three years.

Renewable Energy

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the final deadlines are for grant funding applications to the (a) Clear Skies and (b) solar photovoltaics major demonstration programmes.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is as follows.
	(a) The final deadline for Clear Skies community applications was 4 November. For householders there is no set date, grants will be offered up until March 2006 unless forecasting shows that funding will run out sooner, in which case a month's notice will be given.
	(b) For the PV demonstration programme the final stream 2 deadline will be in February. For household application grants will be offered up until March 2006 unless forecasting shows funding will run out sooner, in which case a month's notice will be given.

Renewable Energy

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the (a) Clear Skies and (b) Solar Photovoltaics Major Demonstration Programmes will end; when their successor programmes will begin; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure continuity in the renewables sector.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is as follows:
	(a) The Clear Skies Programme and Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme end in March 2006.
	(b) The new Low Carbon Buildings Programme is due to start in April 2006.
	£1.5 million of the £30 million budget has been brought forward to the existing programmes to ensure there is a minimal gap between their end and the start of the new programme.

Renewable Energy

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of (a) residential and (b) commercial properties (i) contracting to receive renewable energy and (ii) using on-site renewable generation in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: No estimates have been made of the number of residential and commercial properties contracted to receive renewable energy, or using on-site renewable generation, in each year since 1997.
	In 2004, 3.1 per cent. of electricity came from renewable energy sources eligible under the Renewables Obligation, enough to supply over 2 million households.

Renewable Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding has been made available for renewable energy sources in the UK in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: It has not been possible to collate all public expenditure and other Government support since 1997 for energy technologies in the time available at proportionate cost. However, it is possible to detail direct DTI and Research Council expenditure on renewables energy. These are set out in the tables.
	In addition to this both DEFRA and the Scottish Executive provide funding to the Carbon Trust which conducts research into low carbon energy activities among other activities. DEFRA also funds research into combined heat and power, which is also detailed in the tables as follows.
	
		DTI new and renewable energy programme—external spend for each technology area by financial year from 1997–98(rounded to nearest thousand)
		
			  Spend 
			 Programme area 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Bio wastes 75,000 48,000 25,000 56,000 13,000 42,000 25,9000 — 
			 Biomass 1,317,000 1,076,000 1,585,000 1,267,000 1,333,000 1,595,000 1,346,000 974,222 
			 Embedded generation 586,000 530,000 596,000 589,000 776,000 1,424,000 725,000 1,105,640 
			 Fuel cells 900,000 1,197,000 1,168,000 1,410,000 1,249,000 1,200,000 1,701,000 4,907,430 
			 Geothermal—aquifers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Geothermal—hot dry rocks 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hydro 57,000 80,000 138,000 60,000 130,000 200,000 85,000 0 
			 Solar 1,660,000 983,000 1,278,000 1,264,000 1,522,000 4,485,000 3,131,000 1,970,340 
			 Tidal 0 0 0 27,000 305,000 1,996,000 2,914,000 1,268,530 
			 Wave 0 91,000 11,000 331,000 662,000 748,000 2,104,000 — 
			 Wind 1,240,000 950,000 801,000 913,000 1,248,000 1,428,000 1,395,000 1,459,600 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. From 2000–01, figures do not include spend on contracts placed direct by DTI.
	2. For 2004–05, highlighted cells show a combined spend for the two areas.
	
		£
		
			 DTI capital grant programmes 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Biomass (DTI and lottery spend) — — — — — — 10,000 1,913,000 
			 Offshore wind capital grants — — — — — — — 15,000,000 
			 Clear skies community renewables — — — — — — 200,000 1,387,000 
			 Major PV demo programme — — — — — 960,000 2,880,000 6,450,000 
			  
			 DEFRA CHP programme 1,000,000 1,300,000 1,900,000 2,500,000 2,800,000 1,600,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 
		
	
	Note:
	Several indirect measures of state support for CHP were introduced in 2001–02. Of those that can be enumerated, climate change levy exemption on fuel inputs to good quality CHP and good quality CHP electricity outputs were valued at up to £80 million per annum, while eligibility for enhanced capital allowances is worth in the region of 10m per annum to the industry. Capital grants for community energy programme schemes were introduced in 2002–03 and the spend on schemes including CHP was: £427,000 in 2002–03, £4,315,000 in 2003–04 and £4,896,000 in 2004–05.
	
		Research council spend
		
			 Programme area 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Biofuel 0 0 0 21,540 51,545 143,990 134,929 92,325 
			 Biomass 446,665 870,970 736,434 600,811 700,790 783,026 1,042,526 1,186,257 
			 CHP 4,382 36,297 63,210 77,166 267,313 356,756 225,905 70,791 
			 CO2 sequestration 0 0 0 22,544 41,589 77,787 30,323 42,461 
			 Fuel cells 887,584 1,011,524 703,128 898,637 1,145,076 1,468,042 1,193,165 917,608 
			 Hydrogen 30,348 135,531 59,169 82,976 318,500 516,560 1,494,155 1,495,130 
			 Solar 1,439,835 1,286,000 1,076,000 1,134,000 1,130,000 1,157,000 1,453,023 1,753,334 
			 Photovoltaic 2,254,756 3,001,835 2,759,517 2,991,977 3,536,428 2,770,354 2,381,044 2,761,866 
			 Wave and tidal 0 157,000 175,000 300,599 605,693 616,694 830,226 1,050,253 
			 Wind 199,847 225,903 177,716 260,596 330,283 490,447 481,572 255,672 
			 Wind/solar(7) 0 21,000 21,000 100,000 0 0 0 0 
			 Wind/wave(8) 0 28,000 28,000 28,000 28,000 28.000 28,000 28,000 
			 Waste 66,012 9,985 39,652 39,962 95,718 124,826 169,024 154,474 
			 Geothermal 0 0 0 40,493 64,550 63,550 73,460 79,429 
			 Storage 325,808 649,899 669,617 837,918 888,602 809,871 730,182 499,536 
			 Networks 1,347,678 1,167,695 1,081,132 919,165 1,114,793 1,388,490 1,804,749 2,463,125

Renewable Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps have been taken to ensure that there is adequate funding for renewable energy sources in the UK.

Malcolm Wicks: The Renewables Obligation is the Government's main policy to support renewables. The value of the obligation rises every year and will be worth around £l billion by 2010. On top of this the Government have also committed to further support renewables with £500 million of support for research, development and demonstration of a range of renewable technologies between 2002 and 2008.

Renewable Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on funding targets set for renewable energy sources in the UK; and whether funding targets have been met.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 3 November 2005
	The Government do not have funding targets for renewable energy. The Government have a target of 10 per cent. of electricity from eligible sources of renewable energy by 2010, with an aspiration to double that by 2020.
	To support progress towards the Government's renewables target we introduced the renewables obligation (RO) in 2002. The RO requires electricity suppliers to source an increasing proportion of their electricity sales from renewable sources. The RO, together with exemption for renewables from the climate change levy, is expected to provide support to industry of around £1 billion a year by 2010.
	We have also allocated support of around £500 million, between 2002 and 2008, for capital grants and research and development, to help develop renewable and other low carbon technologies.

Renewable Energy

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on (a) proposals to replace the Major Photovoltaic Demonstration Programme and the Clear Skies Initiative and (b) the resources to be made available for new programmes.

Malcolm Wicks: A new Low Carbon Buildings Programme will supersede the current programmes. This is due to start in April 2006, subject to State Aids approval, with a budget of £30 million over a 3-year period.

Renewable Energy

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact on future investment decisions of his decision not to confirm an extension to the renewables obligation beyond 2015.

Malcolm Wicks: The renewables obligation already continues beyond 2015 to 2027. Under the ongoing review of the renewables obligation, the Government have set out its position that it do not consider that any additional announcements on obligation levels beyond 2015–16 are necessary at this stage.
	Given the current gap between ROC-eligible renewable energy generation (3.1 per cent. in 2004) and the obligation level for 2015–16 (15.4 per cent.), we consider that there remain strong incentives within the RO to make new investments in renewable
	energy.
	This position has been extensively discussed with industry and other stakeholders as part of the ongoing consultation.

Royal Mail

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  how much compensation was paid to members of the public for letters lost or stolen while in the possession of the Royal Mail in the last three years for which information is available;
	(2)  how many letters (a) were lost or stolen and (b) had items stolen from inside the letter while in the possession of the Royal Mail in the last three years for which information is available.

Barry Gardiner: This is an operational matter for Royal Mail. I have therefore asked Adam Crozier, the chief executive of Royal Mail, to provide a direct reply to my hon. Friend.
	Information on complaints and compensation are published on the Royal Mail website: http://www.royalmail.group.com/

Security-sensitive Exports

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the implications for the effectiveness of oversight of security-sensitive exports of the change in the number of posts in his Department's Export Control Office.

Ian Pearson: The reduction in the headcount of the Export Control Organisation has not so far materially affected its effectiveness or efficiency, as measured by the accuracy and timeliness of its licensing decisions. However I shall be monitoring the situation carefully to ensure consistent levels of service.

Small Businesses

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to help small businesses to expand.

Alun Michael: holding answer 3 November 2005
	The Government places high priority on helping small business to grow and is pleased that SME productivity growth has exceeded all firms" productivity growth over the 4-year period 1999–2003 (the most recent period for which statistics have been published.
	The Government provides a range of support to encourage small businesses to expand and grow, including help with access to finance, measures to improve skills, promoting innovation and help for businesses to export. The way for any small business to gain access to this support is to contact the local Business Link, while the website www.businesslink.gov.uk provides authoritative information from over 40 Government Departments and agencies. We are also active in reducing the regulatory burden on business, freeing more entrepreneurs' time to focus on growth.

Small Businesses

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what grants are available for research and development undertaken by small and medium-sized enterprises.

Alun Michael: The starting point for any business in England is to contact the local Business Link, which exists to provide advice and help in identifying the help available to meet that business's specific needs. In doing so, the Business Link will draw on assistance funded by Government and by others including local government and by commercial and other providers. The assistance provided by Government is as follows:
	Each year the DTI invests over £400 million assisting businesses through grants, loans and subsidised consultancy. DTI provides the following help to small and medium-sized businesses to undertake research and development:
	Grant for Research and Development" provides grants to help individuals and small and medium-sized businesses research and develop technologically innovative products and processes.
	Collaborative Research and Development" provides grants to businesses of all sizes to carry out projects in strategically important areas of science, engineering and technology.
	Collaborative Research and Development can also be used to fund collaboration with international partners through EUREKA.
	Full details of DTI's support for business can be found on the DTI website at www.dti.gov.uk/bss.
	Businesses can find details of further sources of help with starting and growing a business through the Grants and Support Directory on www.businesslink.gov.uk/support but will be given a personal service of advice and help by their local Business Link.

UK Trade and Investment

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the annual budget for UK Trade and Investment and its predecessor body was in each year from 1997; and what the staff complement was in each year.

Ian Pearson: UK Trade and Investment (formerly British Trade International) was established in 1999. According to its annual report and accounts the annual spend in support of the organisation's objectives for the period 2000–01 (the first year that information is available) until 2004–05 and the staff complement for each of those years is as follows.
	
		£ million
		
			  Total net resources Staff numbers(7) 
		
		
			 2000–01 277 2,224 
			 2001–02 257 2,217 
			 2002–03 279 2,303 
			 2003–04 289 2,305 
			 2004–05 291 2,312 
		
	
	(7) Whole time equivalents.
	Note:
	For 2004–05 the figures are indicative.
	Source:
	Except for 2004–05, UK Trade and Investment (Formerly British Trade International) published Resource Accounts.

UK/Uganda Trade

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the volume of trade was between the United Kingdom and Uganda in each year since 2001, broken down by product.

Ian Pearson: The information is as follows:
	
		£000
		
			  UK Exports UK Imports 
		
		
			 2001 34,814 8,542 
			 2002 33,666 10,672 
			 2003 36,765 9,448 
			 2004 36,397 13,174 
		
	
	Product breakdown is as follows:
	
		UK trade in goods with Uganda -- £000
		
			   UK Exports 
			 Section Description 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 0 Food and live animals 487 468 1,766 1,105 
			 1 Beverages and tobacco 367 451 242 385 
			 2 Crude materials, inedible, except fuels 756 654 241 290 
			 3 Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials 11 13 35 19 
			 4 Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes 0 4 0 14 
			 5 Chemicals and related products nes 6,011 4,817 5,554 4,885 
			 6 Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material 1,722 1,937 2,024 3,392 
			 7 Machinery and transport equipment 19,001 19,436 20,493 18,238 
			 8 Miscellaneous manufactured articles 6,384 5,797 6,226 7,863 
			 9 Commodities and transactions not elsewhere classified 73 91 184 205 
			  Total trade(8) 34,814 33,666 36,765 36,397 
		
	
	
		UK trade in goods with Uganda -- £000
		
			   UK Imports 
			 Section Description 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 0 Food and live animals 3,017 2,936 3,205 3,368 
			 1 Beverages and tobacco 2,948 5,476 3,812 2,816 
			 2 Crude materials, inedible, except fuels 1,160 667 594 557 
			 3 Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials 31 0 0 0 
			 4 Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes 0 0 0 14 
			 5 Chemicals and related products nes 21 6 7 1 
			 6 Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material 10 163 46 283 
			 7 Machinery and transport equipment 599 942 1,126 1,459 
			 8 Miscellaneous manufactured articles 518 234 201 3,920 
			 9 Commodities and transactions not elsewhere classified 237 247 456 758 
			  Total trade(8) 8,542 10,672 9,448 13,174 
		
	
	(8) Total trade figures rounded up/down.
	Source:
	Compiled by DTI Statistics from HM Revenue and Customs data.

Universal Banking Service

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact of the universal banking service on financial inclusion of the residents of small rural communities; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: I have been asked to reply.
	The move to Direct Payment and the introduction of universal banking services, which have brought banking services into many rural and urban deprived areas for the first time, have resulted in a number of benefits for individuals and the communities in which they live. Many people who were previously financially excluded in these areas now have more choice and improved local access to banking services.
	The banking industry have worked with Government to make basic bank accounts, which were specifically designed to address the needs of the financially excluded, more accessible. Since the start of universal banking in April 2003, a net total of around 1.4 million basic bank accounts have been opened—and the majority of these have the facility to withdraw cash at post office counters as well as through bank branches and ATMs. Some 20 million people are able to access their current accounts through post office branches.
	In April 2003, only 43 per cent. of DWP customers were paid directly into an account—following the move to Direct Payment and the introduction of universal banking services that figure has now increased to over 97 per cent.

Wholesale Gas Prices

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the likely variability of wholesale gas prices during winter 2005–06.

Malcolm Wicks: Variability, or volatility, is a normal part of the working of a well-functioning commodity market. Current UK wholesale spot gas prices are determined by the price of oil and the day-to-day balance between demand and supply in the UK gas market.
	When the market is tight small changes in demand and supply will have a bigger impact on price volatility than if the market were over-supplied. The balance of demand and supply, and thus the volatility of prices, will depend on many external factors, including the weather and the availability of storage facilities or import infrastructure on a day-to-day basis. In view of the unpredictability of many of these factors it is not possible to make accurate estimates of future price volatility.

Wholesale Gas Prices

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact of the practice of straddling, whereby a domestic retail supplier sells gas at a fixed price and buys gas at a variable wholesale price.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government have not undertaken an assessment of this practice.
	Pricing decisions in the retails gas market are a commercial matter for suppliers.

Wind Energy

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what capital grants have been allocated to (a) onshore and (b) offshore wind projects in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Wicks: The following table gives a breakdown of capital grants that have been allocated to offshore wind projects in each of the last five years. The information is based on the contract offer letter issued by the DTI.
	
		
			  Project  Capital grant (£ million) 
		
		
			 North Hoyle 2003 10 
			 Scroby Sands 2003 10 
			 Kentish Flats 2003 10 
			 Robin Rigg (OERL) 2003 9 
			 Robin Rigg (SOL) 2003 9 
			 Lynn 2003 10 
			 Rhyl Flats 2003 10 
			 Burbo 2003 10 
			 Barrow Offshore 2004 10 
			 Inner Dowsing 2004 10 
			 Gunfleet Sands 2005 9 
			 Norfolk Offshore 2005 10 
			 Total — 117 
		
	
	The Big Lottery funded the capital grant for Burbo. No capital grants have been allocated to onshore wind projects.

Wind Turbines

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment has been made of the merits of the construction of wind turbines on electricity pylons.

Malcolm Wicks: No consideration has been given by the Department to the construction of wind turbines on electricity pylons. This would be a question for transmission operators/National Grid and project developers to consider.

World Trade Organisation

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to ensure full account is taken of the interests of developing countries during the World Trade Organisation negotiations on agriculture.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 3 November 2005
	Yes. The Government continues to work for an ambitious, pro-development outcome to the World Trade Organisation negotiations, including on agriculture.

World Trade Organisation

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the European Commissioner for External Trade regarding (a) the forthcoming World Trade Organisation meeting in Hong Kong in December and (b) economic partnership agreements with developing nations.

Ian Pearson: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State and I have discussed progress in both the World Trade Organisation negotiations and the economic partnership agreements with Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson on a regular basis and will continue work with him to secure an ambitious, pro-development outcome to these negotiations.

World Trade Organisation

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the outcome of discussions held on 19 and 20 October with World Trade ministers on the preparations for the World Trade summit in Hong Kong on 13 December.

Ian Pearson: Pascal Lamy, Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) gave a report to the General Council Meeting of 19 and 20 October on the progress in Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations. He stated that positions were still far apart on agriculture, and identified an urgent need for progress on NAMA, services and rules. He said that he hoped to circulate draft texts for the Hong Kong ministerial by mid-November.

World Trade Organisation

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will support at the World Trade summit measures to allow developing countries the right to set their own level of tariff reductions in accordance with their own development needs.

Ian Pearson: Yes. The Government believe that it is for developing countries to make their own decisions on the timing, pace, sequencing and product coverage of any market opening in line with their own national development plans and poverty reduction strategies.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Prisoners

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes have been committed by people who have been released from prison before the end of their sentence in each of the last eight years.

Charles Clarke: In the year ending 31 March 2005, 3,794 prisoners were released on parole licence and 265 prisoners were charged with a further offence.
	In the same period, 18,799 prisoners were placed on the home detention curfew scheme and 965 prisoners were charged with a further offence.
	I have placed information relating to the period 1997–98 to 2003–04 in the Library.

Prisoners

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department What projections he has made of the prison population in the next 12 months; and what steps he is taking to ensure projected numbers are accommodated.

Fiona Mactaggart: The most recent published update to the prison population projections was in July 2005. It indicated a range of estimates for 10 scenarios up to 2011.
	Current population levels are higher than the projected estimates. The situation is being closely monitored. We are managing the population by increasing the operational capacity of the prison estate by bringing accommodation back into use more quickly from refurbishment and through additional places built at existing prisons.

Terrorism Bill

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with ethnic minorities on the Terrorism Bill.

Paul Goggins: Following the events of the 7 July and 21 July, Home Office Ministers and officials have been involved in ongoing discussions with a range of communities, and in particular with the Muslim communities through the Preventing Extremism Together workgroups. Draft clauses of the Terrorism Bill were made public on 15 September and further revised clauses were made available on 6 October so that everyone with an interest had an opportunity to comment.

Domestic Violence

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that measures in place to protect children and mothers from domestic violence and abuse are effective.

Fiona Mactaggart: The National Plan for Domestic Violence includes a set of measures to ensure that domestic violence victims and their children are identified, protected and supported. These include, screening within health and social care settings and training for professionals within these sectors and the criminal justice system. The additional measures in the CJS ensure more effective case management of perpetrators giving greater protection for victims.
	These measures are also being managed on a quarterly basis by the Inter-Ministerial Group on Domestic Violence.

Illegal Workers

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to prevent people who are in the country illegally from working.

Andy Burnham: The Government are firmly committed to tackling illegal migrant working. We have taken steps to strengthen the relevant legislation by reforming section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 and by supporting my friend's initiative on gangmaster licensing. We are introducing new measures for a civil penalty regime and a tougher criminal offence for employers in the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill, currently before the House. Our strategy also involves increasing enforcement, encouraging compliance by business, and developing joint working between agencies responsible for enforcing workplace regulations. We have also increased removals of those in breach of immigration laws.

Violent Crime

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department What measures he is taking to tackle Violent Crime.

Hazel Blears: The Government are currently taking forward a very full range of work which will continue to reduce violent crime. We are introducing new measures which will give police and local communities the powers they need to tackle guns, knives and alcohol-related violence in the Violent Crime Reduction Bill which is currently before Parliament.

Identity Cards

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the cost of identity cards.

Andy Burnham: Our current best estimate of the average unit cost of the combined passport and ID card package is £93; around 70 per cent. of these costs would be incurred anyway because of the worldwide move to biometric passports. Within our current financial estimates for the scheme it will be affordable to set a charge of £30 at current prices for a standalone ID card valid for 10 years.

Young Soldiers (Deaths)

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of the police inquiry into the deaths of young soldiers at Deepcut.

Hazel Blears: Devon and Cornwall police have completed their review of Surrey police's investigation into the deaths of the soldiers at Deepcut barracks.
	This was submitted to Surrey police on 31 August 2005.

Traffic Offences

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will bring forward proposals to make it an offence for occupants of cars to refuse to identify the driver after a serious offence has been committed; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: It is already an offence to refuse to identify the driver of a vehicle when required to do so by the police. Section 172(2)(a) Road Traffic Act 1988 requires the keeper of a vehicle to give information required by the police about the identity of the driver of his vehicle where the driver is alleged to be guilty of any of a number of offences in road traffic legislation. Section 172(2)(b) requires any other person to give information which is in his power to give and may lead to identification of the driver. Section 172(3) RTA 1988 provides that it is an offence to fail to provide this information.

Asylum Seekers

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are being held in detention.

Andy Burnham: As at 25 June 2005, the most recent date for which published figures are available, there were a total of 2,155 individuals detained. Of these, 1,689 were recorded as having sought asylum at some stage.

Asylum Seekers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the budget for immigration centres designed to hold asylum seekers has been since 2001.

Tony McNulty: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) budget on running immigration removal centres for each of the years from 2001–02 is supplied in the table.
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 2001–02 61,941 
			 2002–03 36,940 
			 2003–04 50,439 
			 2004–05 79,551 
			 2005–06 81,908

Asylum Seekers

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the last five years; and how many failed asylum seekers are awaiting return.

Tony McNulty: Information on the destination that failed asylum seekers are returned to is only available since January 2004. The number of asylum seekers returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo between January 2004 and June 2005 is given in the table.
	Information on nationals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo who are removed from the UK as failed asylum seekers are published on the Home Office website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
	Information on the number of asylum seekers awaiting removal could be ascertained by examination of individual case files only at a disproportionate cost.
	
		Removals, voluntary departures(9), assisted returns of asylum applicants to the Democratic Republic of the Congo,2004 to Q2 2005(10)(5508300011)
		
			  Principal applicants removed 
		
		
			 2004 (11)15 
			 2005(12) (11)15 
		
	
	(9) Includes enforced removals, persons departing 'voluntarily' following enforcement action initiated against them, and persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration.
	(10) Figures rounded to the nearest 5.
	(11) Provisional figures.
	(12) January to June.

Asylum Seekers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what resources are made available to asylum seekers when they arrive in the UK; and what the cost was of the provision of such resources in the last year for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) contracts with both the voluntary sector and/or local authorities to provide services for asylum seekers on arrival in the UK. A network of initial accommodation sites provide a variety of services, including advice on the claim process, the claimant's rights and responsibilities while the claim is under consideration and the provision of health assessments (including TB screening). The cost of initial accommodation bed spaces during 2004–05 was £52.6 million. A further £11.7 million was spent on associated services.

Asylum Seekers

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to remove failed asylum seekers.

Tony McNulty: Between 1994 and 2004, the number of failed asylum seekers (principle applicants) removed from the UK has more than trebled.
	The Government have introduced a number of measures to ensure that we return those failed asylum seekers who have no basis of stay in the United Kingdom, and who fail to leave voluntarily. These include increased staffing; more intelligence led operations; increasing the use of charter flights; expanding the detention estate; enhancing contact management by introducing measures such as electronic tagging and promoting and increasing the number of voluntary returns and seeking greater co-operation from overseas counterparts to speed up documentation and open up more return routes.

Alcohol-related Crime

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to deal with alcohol-related crime.

Paul Goggins: The Violent Crime Reduction Bill contains new measures for the police and local communities to tackle alcohol-related violence. The new measures will target both the individual and the collective responsibility of the alcohol industry through Alcohol Disorder Zones, Drinking Banning Orders, 48-hour directions to leave and powers to close premises for up to 48 hours where alcohol is persistently sold to under-18s. The Bill will build on the Licensing Act 2003, which comes into force on 24 November and expands police powers to tackle badly run premises—through more effective reviews and revocation of licences where appropriate—as well as increasing many of the penalties and fines for alcohol-related offences.
	We are also taking forward a comprehensive Alcohol Harm Reduction Programme which will tackle a range of alcohol harms, including crime, and is being implemented across Government. Recent activities in the programme have included a series of Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaigns in which the police have clamped down on binge and under-age drinking. And we have been working closely with the alcohol industry to develop a Principles and Standards document which will help retailers and producers to prevent sales to under-age children and drunks, put an end to irresponsible drinks promotions and put in place end of evening dispersal policies to help drinkers get home safely and quickly.

Antisocial Behaviour

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of antisocial behaviour have been reported to police in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: There is currently no data on the number of incidents of antisocial behaviour (ASB) due to the subjective nature of ASB itself. The latest data collected on ASB relates to the public perception of ASB in England and Wales and is measured by the British Crime Survey.

Antisocial Behaviour

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2005, Official Report, column 343W, on antisocial behaviour orders, how many of the 793 individuals who breached their ASBO between 1 June 2000 and 31 December 2003, consequentially received a custodial sentence.

Hazel Blears: I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer of 17 October 2005, Official Report, column 343W.
	Of the 793 individuals who breached their antisocial behaviour order on one or more occasions between 1 June 2000 and 31 December 2003, 437 received a custodial sentence.

Anti-trafficking Operation (West Midlands)

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the four non-EU national women rescued in the anti-trafficking operation by West Midlands police on 29 September will be granted temporary admission to the UK.

Tony McNulty: Of the six non-EEA national women who were brought to the attention of the Immigration Service by the West Midlands Police, four stated that they had not been trafficked. The two women who claim to have been trafficked have been released into the care of a Home Office funded support group.

Avian Influenza (Prisons)

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what contingency plans have been put in place by his Department to safeguard the containment of prisoners in the event of an avian influenza epidemic; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Ministry of Defence concerning the safeguarding of prisons in the eventuality of an avian influenza outbreak.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 17 October 2005
	The Prison Service is taking advice from the Department of Health, as are all Government Departments, as to the potential effects of an influenza pandemic upon its workforce and the prisoners in its care.
	A working group, which includes representatives from external agencies in addition to its own operational and policy personnel, has been formed to draft guidance to assist prison governors prepare local business continuity plans. These plans will be linked to those of local primary care trusts, emergency services and emergency planning authorities. They will continue to reflect security and the safety of the public as a key responsibility.

Bonded Labour

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of bonded labourers in the United Kingdom held by people smugglers.

Tony McNulty: No estimate has been made of the number of bonded labourers in the United Kingdom held by people smugglers.

Border Security

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of securing the UK's borders has been since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The budget allocated to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate for Border Control for 2005–06 is £178 million.
	It is not possible to obtain the previous amounts of funding allocated as this information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Common EU Border Police Force

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his policy on the creation of a common EU border police force.

Andy Burnham: Like the majority of EU member states, the UK Government remains unconvinced of the need for a standing EU border force. There are many practical actions and concrete measures that can be taken forward with EU partners without the need to go as far as creating a European border police.
	For example we are committed to working together on targeted EU joint operations aimed at strengthening the EU's external borders and to this end we fully support the aims and objectives of the recently-established EU Border Agency (Frontex).
	The EU's Hague Programme refers to a feasibility study into a European system of Border Guards" but makes no commitment to establishing one. The feasibility study will take place in 2007, as part of the review of the Border Agency.

Community Support Officers

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community support officers there have been in (a) the South Tyneside area command and (b) Northumbria in each year since their inception.

Hazel Blears: Information on the number of community support officers (CSOs) in basic command units (BCUs) has only been collected since June 2005. At 30 June 2005 there were 13 CSOs in the South Tyneside BCD. CSOs were introduced nationally during 2002–03. Northumbria police did not have any CSOs as of 31 March 2003, but had 51 at the end of March 2004, and 129 at the end of June 2005.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter of 22 September 2005 from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton with regard to Mr. Abdul Khaleq.

Charles Clarke: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 3 November 2005.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of victims and qualifying applicants eligible for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995 made an application under the scheme in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: It is not possible to estimate what proportion of victims of violent crime might have sustained an injury sufficiently serious to qualify for an award of compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and who might also have satisfied the other qualifying criteria set out in the scheme.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department at what stage of the legal process victims and qualifying applicants are informed about the possibility of applying for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

Fiona Mactaggart: The police provide victims of reported crime with the leaflet Victims of Crime—the help and advice that's available". This has a section on compensation which includes information about the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, including the CICA website address and other contact details.

Departmental Skills Development Plan

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which individual is responsible for developing and implementing his Department's Skills Development Plan.

Charles Clarke: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. John Hutton) on 2 November 2005, Official Report, column 1074W.

Drinking Ban

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many locations a ban on drinking in public places has been imposed; and how many local authorities have bans in place.

Paul Goggins: 299 separate localities in 56 local authorities have been designated under section 13(2) of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 as public places where the consumption of alcohol is banned under section 12 of the aforementioned Act. This information is available and updated regularly at www.crimereduction.gov.uk.

Drug Rehabilitation

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prison facility funding was spent on drug rehabilitation schemes in the last period for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: Out of a total £1,865 million allocated to run prisons during 2005–06, £61 million of additional funding has been provided to deliver drug treatment. This equates to 3.2 per cent. of the total allocation. The baseline figure for drug treatment expenditure is not available centrally.

Drug Smugglers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what punishments are available for drug smugglers who are caught by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

Paul Goggins: The maximum penalty for the importation or exportation of class A drugs is life imprisonment; for class B substances it is 14 years. A court may alternatively or additionally impose a fine of any amount. Community penalties are also available.
	Where an offender is convicted for the third time of an offence of importation, exportation, production, supply or possession with intent to supply class A drugs the court must impose a sentence of at least seven years save in exceptional circumstances.

Drug Smugglers

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much, in (a) metric weight and (b) street value, of the (i) heroin and (ii) meta-amphetamine supply in the UK he estimates originated in Burma in 2004–05.

Paul Goggins: Drugs seizures from April to December 2004 show no evidence that any of the heroin and methamphetamine in the UK originated in Burma.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many meetings of the (a) EU Committee on the introduction of a uniform format for visas, (b) EU Committee for the implementation of the community action programme on preventive measures to fight violence against children, young persons and women (Daphne) and (c) EU committee for the european refugee fund are planned for the UK presidency of the EU; who will be presiding over each meeting; which other UK representatives will be present; what provision is in place for representation of the devolved Governments; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: With respect to the number of working parties and their representatives;
	(a) The visa working party takes forward measures on a range of matters connected with the EU common visa policy, including the uniform format visa. There are currently six meetings of this working group planned during the UK presidency. The chair of the group during the UK presidency is an official from the UK Permanent Representation to the European Union (UKREP). Other UK representatives at the meeting will vary depending on the items on the agenda but normally consist of officials from the Immigration and Nationality Directorate and UKvisas.
	(b) The EU Committee for the implementation of the Community action programme on preventive measures to fight violence against children, young persons and women (Daphne II Programme 2004- 08) met on 8 September and there are no further meetings of the committee scheduled to take place within the UK presidency of the EU. The committee meetings are chaired by officials from the European Commission and the UK is represented on the Committee by a Home Office official (for domestic violence and violence against women), an official from the Department of Health (for child protection issues).
	(c) The ERF committee met on 6 October 2005, no further meetings are planned during the UK presidency. The committee meeting was chaired by an official from the European Commission and the UK was represented by officials from the immigration and nationality directorate.
	The UK Government take into account the views and interests of the devolved administrations when formulating the UK's policy position on all EU and international issues which touch upon devolved matters. Provision for attendance at EU meetings by Ministers and officials of the devolved administrations is set out in paragraphs 4.12–15 of the Concordat on Co-ordination of European Union Policy Issues (part of the Memorandum of Understanding between devolved Ministers and the UK Government). Ministers from the devolved administrations have attended and do attend Councils, by agreement with the lead Whitehall Minister.
	A copy is available on the internet at: http://www.dca.gov.uk/constitution/devolution/pubs/odpm_ dev_600629.pdf

Europe Goes Alternative Conference

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if a Minister from his Department will attend the Europe Goes Alternative Conference in Brussels on 7 November.

Andy Burnham: Due to prior Home Office Parliamentary commitments, a Home Office Minister will not be attending the Europe Goes Alternative Conference in Brussels on 7 November. However we hope that the Home Office Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor Paul Wiles, will be speaking at the meeting. Other Home Office Officials with responsibilities under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and EU Directive 86/609/EEC will be attending.

Historical Sex Abuse Cases

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many strategic management groups have been established in historical sex abuse investigations; and how many were chaired by (a) the police and (b) social services.

Paul Goggins: Information on the number of strategic management groups, and who chairs them, is not collected centrally.

Infant Life Preservation Act

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the operation of the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929;
	(2)  if he will make a statement about the operation of the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 makes it an offence, in England and Wales, to cause the death of an unborn child by any wilful act done with intent to destroy the child's life, if the child was capable of being born alive, unless such an act was done in good faith to preserve the life of the mother. The Act presumes a fetus to be viable at 28 weeks. A conviction under the Act carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
	Under section 5(1) of the Abortion Act 1967, any medical practitioner who acts in accordance with the Abortion Act will not commit an offence under the 1929 Act.
	There have been two cases under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act in the last five years.

Kagho Sebata

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will accede to the request by Kagho Sebata (Home Office reference number S1038309) for the return of his passport; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The immigration service responded to Mr. Sebata on 28 October 2005. In that letter he was asked to provide flight details to the immigration office in Poole who will then make arrangements for his passport to be available for him to travel.

Literacy and Numeracy

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spent on in-house training on (a) literacy and (b) numeracy (i) in total and (ii) per head in each year since 2002.

Charles Clarke: The Department does not collect information centrally on the amount spent on literacy and numeracy development. The Department seeks to embed literacy and numeracy development into a range of training courses offered to staff as well as working in partnership with external providers to offer literacy and numeracy development leading to national qualification which have so far not incurred significant additional cost to the Department. Provision of a breakdown of training costs for literacy and numeracy provision would incur a disproportionate cost.

Marcus Downie

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department plans to take to change the practices and procedures for monitoring the taking of medication by prisoners suffering from mental illness following the verdict from the inquest on the death of Marcus Downie.

Fiona Mactaggart: We will be studying any findings arising from the inquest very carefully and will then consider any action that may be appropriate.

National Offender Management Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he expects that some probation areas will cease to function under the National Offender Management Service proposals.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 31 October 2005
	Under the proposals set out in the consultation paper 'Restructuring Probation to Reduce Re-offending', probation 'trusts' will become one of a number of possible providers of probation services. Their continued existence will depend on their ability to contribute to the reduction of re-offending and thereby win business.
	This is about finding the best provider for the job, whether from private, voluntary and community or public sector.

National Offender Management Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the probation boards will be retained under the National Offender Management Service designer model.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 31 October 2005
	As we have set out in our consultation paper 'Restructuring Probation to Reduce Re-offending', we propose that probation boards cease to exist in their present form and be reconstituted as new bodies, provisionally termed 'trusts', with whom the Secretary of State may contract for probation services.

National Offender Management Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff who have been transferred to the National Offender Management Service since January 2004 have subsequently transferred back.

Charles Clarke: holding answer 31 October 2005
	In April 2005 28 staff who had transferred to the National Offender Management Service since January 2004 were loaned back at the request of the Prison Service to work on a Prison Service project.
	There have been no other large scale transfers of staff back to either the Prison Service or national probation directorate although some individual staff may have chosen to transfer back through normal vacancy advertising procedures. We do not hold central records on individual career moves.

Non-custodial Sentences

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people convicted of crimes received a non-custodial sentence since 1997, broken down (a) by ethnicity and (b) by offences for which they were convicted.

Fiona Mactaggart: Information taken from the Home Office Court Proceedings database on the number of people convicted for crimes who received a non-custodial sentence, by offence type, England and Wales, 1997–2003 is shown in the table.
	Court statistics for 2004 will be available in late November.
	The available information on the number of non-custodial sentences for indictable offences at the Crown Court, broken down by ethnicity, England and Wales for 2003 is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 White 16,134 
			 Black 1,590 
			 Asian 1,224 
			 Other 561 
			 Unknown 9,569 
			 Total 29,081 
		
	
	Ethnicity data for magistrates courts is not available. Data for the Crown Court prior to 2003 is also not available.
	
		Number of offenders found guilty at all courts by offence type and sentenced to a non custodial sentence, England and Wales, 1997–2003(13)
		
			  1997 1998 
			 Offence type Found guilty Non custodial sentence Found guilty Non custodial sentence 
		
		
			 Violence against the person 34,562 24,306 37,050 26,042 
			 Sexual offences 4,523 1,954 4,567 1,903 
			 Burglary 31,703 17,318 30,769 16,540 
			 Robbery 5,589 1,589 5,542 1,600 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 118,440 98,818 125,743 103,429 
			 Fraud and Forgery 17,006 13,323 19,753 15,511 
			 Criminal damage 10,513 9,327 10,943 9,546 
			 Drug offences 40,666 32,689 48,821 40,324 
			 Other indictable offences 46,255 38,508 48,147 39,990 
			 Indictable motoring offences 9,469 7,838 8,935 7,439 
			 Summary offences (exc motoring) 414,233 406,564 460,475 451,524 
			 Summary motoring offences 641,556 627,303 656,821 642,362 
			 Total 1,374,515 1,279,537 1,457,566 1,356,210 
		
	
	
		
			  1999 2000 
			 Offence type Found guilty Non custodial sentence Found guilty Non custodial sentence 
		
		
			 Violence against the person 35,700 24,945 35,270 24,119 
			 Sexual offences 4,304 1,695 3,943 1,510 
			 Burglary 29,261 14,984 26,222 13,017 
			 Robbery 5,626 1,567 5,891 1,603 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 131,224 106,221 127,972 101,597 
			 Fraud and Forgery 20,303 16,166 19,222 15,423 
			 Criminal damage 10,872 9,476 10,250 8,937 
			 Drug offences 48,711 40,215 44,621 36,813 
			 Other indictable offences 46,572 38,618 43,265 35,148 
			 Indictable motoring offences 8,083 6,629 7,549 5,931 
			 Summary offences (exc motoring) 431,508 421,596 488,663 479,242 
			 Summary motoring offences 626,107 610,351 600,691 584,661 
			 Total 1,398,271 1,292,463 1,413,559 1,308,001 
		
	
	
		
			  2001 2002 
			 Offence type Found guilty Non custodial sentence Found guilty Non custodial sentence 
		
		
			 Violence against the person 35,298 24,047 37,708 25,981 
			 Sexual offences 4,043 1,637 4,384 1,811 
			 Burglary 24,802 12,179 26,691 13,026 
			 Robbery 6,822 2,071 7,711 1,850 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 126,986 100,205 127,333 98,772 
			 Fraud and Forgery 18,282 14,380 18,141 14,369 
			 Criminal damage 10,651 9,324 11,000 9,648 
			 Drug offences 45,621 37,180 49,036 40,731 
			 Other indictable offences 42,709 34,632 46,838 37,968 
			 Indictable motoring offences 7,687 5,938 8,239 6,216 
			 Summary offences (exc motoring) 440,266 431,046 485,485 475,808 
			 Summary motoring offences 576,562 559,610 589,635 572,717 
			 Total 1,339,729 1,232,249 1,412,201 1,298,897 
		
	
	
		
			  2003 
			 Offence type Found guilty Non custodial sentence 
		
		
			 Violence against the person 38,036 26,563 
			 Sexual offences 4,355 1,828 
			 Burglary 25,726 13,540 
			 Robbery 7,303 2,189 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 119,098 93,077 
			 Fraud and Forgery 18,019 14,164 
			 Criminal damage 11,233 9,911 
			 Drug offences 51,162 43,072 
			 Other indictable offences 50,023 40,827 
			 Indictable motoring offences 8,696 6,501 
			 Summary offences (exc motoring) 491,755 482,044 
			 Summary motoring offences 655,815 638,426 
			 Total 1,481,221 1,372,142 
		
	
	(13) These data are based on the principal offence basis.

Offences Against the Person Act

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the operation of sections (a) 58 and (b) 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861;
	(2)  if he will make a statement about the operation of sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.

Fiona Mactaggart: Section 58 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 makes it an offence to administer drugs or any noxious substance, or to use an instrument or other means with the intention of causing a miscarriage. It is also an offence for a pregnant woman to administer a noxious thing to herself or to use other means to cause herself to miscarry.
	The maximum penalty is life imprisonment.
	Under section 59 of the 1861 Act it is an offence to supply or procure any noxious thing or instrument knowing it is intended to be used to cause a woman to miscarry her pregnancy.
	The maximum penalty is five years imprisonment.
	Under section 5(2) of the Abortion Act 1967, any medical practitioner who acts in accordance with the Abortion Act will not commit an offence under the 1861 Act.
	There has been one case under section 58 of the 1861 Act in the last five years.

Passports

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will return the passport of Mr. M.J. of Wendover, Buckinghamshire, (case reference J1124857; IA/02413/2005).

Tony McNulty: holding answer 31 October 2005
	Mr. M.J.'s passport was returned to him with notice of the decision to refuse his application on 21 June 2005. A letter has been sent to Mr. M.J. on 27 October requesting that he return his passport to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND), following the decision of the adjudicator to allow his appeal against the refusal. Once IND receive Mr. M.J.'s passport it will be endorsed appropriately and returned to him within one week.

Passports

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of requests for return of documents resulted in the issuing of a loss of passport letter by the Home Office passport unit in (a) 1997–98, (b) 2001–02, (c) 2002–03, (d) 2003–04, (e) 2004–05 and (f) 2005 to date; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The immigration and nationality directorate general group processes all applications for variation of leave to remain from in-country applicants. It also considers all applications for Home Office travel documents from non-British nationals, and issues travel documents where it is appropriate to do so. Please see the table for management information.
	Prior to 2001–02 information on lost passport letters issued by General Group was not collected. Information on the proportion of requests for return of documents which subsequently result in the issue of a loss of passport letter is only available from April 2005. From April to September 2005, the Home Office Passport Unit received 6,239 requests for return of documents. In the same period 378 lost passport letters were issued, a proportion of 6.06 per cent.
	
		
			 Period Decisions made Lost passport letters issued Percentage loss against decisions 
		
		
			 2001–02 380,000 53 0.01 
			 2002–03 403,000 335 0.8 
			 2003–04 504,000 469 0.8 
			 2004–05 550,097 (14)292 (15)0.05 
			 2005–06(16) 261,011 (17)103 (18)0.04 
		
	
	(14) Plus 530 Royal Mail losses.
	(15) Plus 0.09 per cent. Royal Mail losses.
	(16) April-September 2005
	(17) Plus 275 Royal Mail losses
	(18) Plus 0.10 per cent. Royal Mail losses.

Passports

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many loss of passport letters were issued by the Home Office Passport Unit in (a) 1997–98, (b) 2001–02, (c) 2002–03, (d) 2003–04, (e) 2004–05 and (f) 2005 to date; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Immigration and nationality directorate general group processes all applications for variation of leave to remain from in-country applicants. It also considers all applications for Home Office travel documents from non-British nationals, and issues travel documentation where it is appropriate to do so.
	Management information provided by General Group is in the following table. Prior to 2001–02 information on lost passport letters issued by General Group was not collected.
	
		Table—PQ 18973
		
			 Period Decisions made Lost passport letters issued Loss against decisions (percentage) 
		
		
			 2001–02 380,000 53 0.01 
			 2002–03 403,000 335 0.08 
			 2003–04 504,000 469 0.08 
			 2004–05 550,097 (19)292 (20)0.05 
			 2005–06(21) 261,011 (22)103) (23)0.04 
		
	
	(19) Plus 530 Royal Mail losses.
	(20) Plus 0.09 per cent. Royal Mail losses.
	(21) April to September 2005.
	(22) Plus 275 Royal Mail losses.
	(23) Plus 0.10 per cent. Royal Mail losses

Passports

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in Northern Ireland have a valid British passport.

Andy Burnham: The UK Passport Service does not hold this information. However between October 2004 and September 2005, 142,101 British passports were issued to persons with addresses in Northern Ireland.

Police

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the areas to which police neighbourhood teams have been allocated in each London local authority area.

Hazel Blears: The roll-out of Safer Neighbourhoods Teams is a matter for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.
	A list of areas where Safer Neighbourhoods teams are currently operating has been provided by the Metropolitan Police Service and is contained in the table.
	
		Safer Neighbourhoods Teams
		
			 Local authority District 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham Abbey 
			 Barking and Dagenham Chadwell Heath 
			 Barking and Dagenham Gascoigne 
			 Barking and Dagenham Goresbrook 
			 Barking and Dagenham Mayesbrook 
			 Barking and Dagenham River 
			 Barking and Dagenham Thames 
			 Barking and Dagenham Village 
			 Barking and Dagenham Whalebone 
			 Barnet Burnt Oak 
			 Barnet Childs Hill 
			 Barnet Colindale 
			 Barnet East Barnet 
			 Barnet East Finchley 
			 Barnet Edgware 
			 Barnet High Barnet 
			 Barnet West Hendon 
			 Bexley Belvedere 
			 Bexley Christchurch 
			 Bexley Colyers 
			 Bexley Cray Meadows 
			 Bexley East Wickham 
			 Bexley Erith 
			 Bexley Falconwood and Welling 
			 Bexley North End 
			 Bexley St Mary's 
			 Bexley Thamesmead East 
			 Brent Dudden Hill 
			 Brent Fryent 
			 Brent Harlesden 
			 Brent Kensal Green 
			 Brent Kilburn 
			 Brent Stonebridge 
			 Brent Wembley Central 
			 Brent Willesden Green 
			 Bromley Biggin Hill 
			 Bromley Bromley Town 
			 Bromley Copers Cope 
			 Bromley Cray Valley East 
			 Bromley Darwin 
			 Bromley Hayes and Coney Hall 
			 Bromley Mottingham and Chislehurst North 
			 Bromley Orpington 
			 Bromley Penge and Cator 
			 Camden Cantelowes 
			 Camden Gospel Oak 
			 Camden Hampstead Town 
			 Camden Haverstock 
			 Camden Kilburn 
			 Camden Regent's Park 
			 Camden St. Pancras and Somers Town 
			 Camden Swiss Cottage 
			 Croydon Bensham Manor 
			 Croydon Broad Green 
			 Croydon Coulsdon East 
			 Croydon Fieldway 
			 Croydon New Addington 
			 Croydon Selhurst 
			 Croydon South Norwood 
			 Croydon Thornton Heath 
			 Croydon Triangle 
			 Croydon Waddon 
			 Croydon Woodside 
			 Ealing Dormers Wells 
			 Ealing Ealing Broadway 
			 Ealing East Acton 
			 Ealing Northolt West End 
			 Ealing Norwood Green 
			 Ealing South Acton 
			 Ealing Southall Broadway 
			 Ealing Southall Green 
			 Enfield Edmonton Green 
			 Enfield Enfield Highway 
			 Enfield Enfield Lock 
			 Enfield Lower Edmonton 
			 Enfield Palmers Green 
			 Enfield Southbury 
			 Enfield Southgate 
			 Enfield Town 
			 Enfield Upper Edmonton 
			 Greenwich Abbey Wood 
			 Greenwich Charlton 
			 Greenwich Coldharbour and New Eltham 
			 Greenwich Eltham West 
			 Greenwich Greenwich West 
			 Greenwich Middle Park and Sutcliffe 
			 Greenwich Woolwich Common 
			 Greenwich Woolwich Riverside 
			 Hackney Brownswood 
			 Hackney Chatham 
			 Hackney Dalston 
			 Hackney Hackney Central 
			 Hackney Haggerston 
			 Hackney Leabridge 
			 Hackney New River 
			 Hackney Queensbridge 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Addison 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Askew 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham College Park and Old Oak 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Fulham Broadway 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Hammersmith Broadway 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham North End 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Parsons Green and Walham 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Ravenscourt Park 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Sands End 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Shepherd's Bush Green 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Town 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Wormholt and White City 
			 Haringey Crouch End 
			 Haringey Hornsey 
			 Haringey Muswell Hill 
			 Haringey Stroud Green 
			 Haringey Tottenham Green 
			 Haringey West Green 
			 Haringey White Hart Lane 
			 Haringey Woodside 
			 Harrow Edgware 
			 Harrow Greenhill 
			 Harrow Kenton West 
			 Harrow Marlborough 
			 Harrow Pinner 
			 Harrow Roxbourne 
			 Harrow Roxeth 
			 Harrow Wealdstone 
			 Havering Brooklands 
			 Havering Elm Park 
			 Havering Heaton 
			 Havering Hylands 
			 Havering Rainham and Wennington 
			 Havering South Hornchurch 
			 Havering St. Andrew's 
			 Havering Upminster 
			 Hillingdon Botwell 
			 Hillingdon South Ruislip 
			 Hillingdon Townfield 
			 Hillingdon Uxbridge North 
			 Hillingdon Uxbridge South 
			 Hillingdon West Drayton 
			 Hillingdon Yeading 
			 Hillingdon Yiewsley 
			 Hounslow Bedfont 
			 Hounslow Cranford 
			 Hounslow Feltham North 
			 Hounslow Heston East 
			 Hounslow Heston West 
			 Hounslow Hounslow Central 
			 Hounslow Hounslow West 
			 Hounslow Osterley and Spring Grove 
			 Islington Bunhill 
			 Islington Caledonian 
			 Islington Clerkenwell 
			 Islington Finsbury Park 
			 Islington Hillrise 
			 Islington Holloway 
			 Islington Mildmay 
			 Islington St. Mary's 
			 Islington Tollington 
			 Kensington and Chelsea Brompton 
			 Kensington and Chelsea Colville 
			 Kensington and Chelsea Courtfield 
			 Kensington and Chelsea Cremorne 
			 Kensington and Chelsea Earl's Court 
			 Kensington and Chelsea Golborne 
			 Kensington and Chelsea Holland 
			 Kensington and Chelsea St. Charles 
			 Kingston upon Thames Berrylands 
			 Kingston upon Thames Beverley 
			 Kingston upon Thames Canbury 
			 Kingston upon Thames Chessington South 
			 Kingston upon Thames Coombe Hill 
			 Kingston upon Thames Norbiton 
			 Kingston upon Thames St. Mark's 
			 Kingston upon Thames Tolworth and Hook Rise 
			 Lambeth Bishop's 
			 Lambeth Clapham Town 
			 Lambeth Coldharbour 
			 Lambeth Ferndale 
			 Lambeth Herne Hill 
			 Lambeth Oval 
			 Lambeth Streatham Wells 
			 Lambeth Vassall 
			 Lewisham Blackheath 
			 Lewisham Brockley 
			 Lewisham Evelyn 
			 Lewisham Forest Hill 
			 Lewisham New Cross 
			 Lewisham Perry Vale 
			 Lewisham Sydenham 
			 Lewisham Telegraph Hill 
			 Merton Abbey 
			 Merton Colliers Wood 
			 Merton Cricket Green 
			 Merton Figge's Marsh 
			 Merton Graveney 
			 Merton Lavender Fields 
			 Merton Longthornton 
			 Merton Pollards Hill 
			 Merton Ravensbury 
			 Merton St. Helier 
			 Newham Beckton 
			 Newham Boleyn 
			 Newham Canning Town North 
			 Newham Canning Town South 
			 Newham Custom House 
			 Newham East Ham North 
			 Newham Little llford 
			 Newham Stratford and New Town 
			 Redbridge Bridge 
			 Red bridge Church End 
			 Redbridge Clementswood 
			 Redbridge Goodmayes 
			 Redbridge Hainault 
			 Redbridge Loxford 
			 Redbridge Mayfield 
			 Redbridge Wanstead 
			 Richmond upon Thames Barnes 
			 Richmond upon Thames Ham Petersham and Richmond  Riverside 
			 Richmond upon Thames Hampton North 
			 Richmond upon Thames Heathfield 
			 Richmond upon Thames Mortlake and Barnes Common 
			 Richmond upon Thames South Richmond 
			 Richmond upon Thames Teddington 
			 Richmond upon Thames Twickenham Riverside 
			 Southwark Camberwell Green 
			 Southwark Cathedrals 
			 Southwark East Walworth 
			 Southwark Faraday 
			 Southwark Livesey 
			 Southwark Peckham 
			 Southwark Rotherhithe 
			 Southwark South Bermondsey 
			 Southwark Surrey Docks 
			 Southwark The Lane 
			 Sutton Beddington South 
			 Sutton Belmont 
			 Sutton Carshalton Central 
			 Sutton Carshalton South and Clockhouse 
			 Sutton Cheam 
			 Sutton Nonsuch 
			 Sutton St. Helier 
			 Sutton Sutton Central 
			 Sutton Sutton South 
			 Sutton Wellington South 
			 Sutton Wandle Valley 
			 Sutton Worcester Park 
			 Tower Hamlets Bethnal Green North 
			 Tower Hamlets Bethnal Green South 
			 Tower Hamlets Blackwall and Cubitt Town 
			 Tower Hamlets Bow East 
			 Tower Hamlets Bow West 
			 Tower Hamlets Bromley-by-Bow 
			 Tower Hamlets East India and Lansbury 
			 Tower Hamlets Limehouse 
			 Tower Hamlets Mile End and Globe Town 
			 Tower Hamlets Mile End East 
			 Tower Hamlets Millwall 
			 Tower Hamlets Shadwell 
			 Tower Hamlets Spitalfields and Banglatown 
			 Tower Hamlets St. Dunstan's and Stepney Green 
			 Tower Hamlets St. Katherine's and Wapping 
			 Tower Hamlets Weavers 
			 Tower Hamlets Whitechapel 
			 Waltham Forest Cann Hall 
			 Waltham Forest Cathall 
			 Waltham Forest High Street 
			 Waltham Forest Lea Bridge 
			 Waltham Forest Leyton 
			 Waltham Forest Leytonstone 
			 Waltham Forest Valley 
			 Waltham Forest Wood Street 
			 Wandsworth Graveney 
			 Wandsworth Latchmere 
			 Wandsworth Queenstown 
			 Wandsworth Roehampton 
			 Wandsworth Shaftesbury 
			 Wandsworth St. Mary's Park 
			 Wandsworth Tooting 
			 Wandsworth West Putney 
			 Westminster Church Street 
			 Westminster Churchill 
			 Westminster Harrow Road 
			 Westminster Hyde Park 
			 Westminster Lancaster Gate 
			 Westminster Queen's Park 
			 Westminster St. James's 
			 Westminster Tachbrook 
			 Westminster Vincent Square 
			 Westminster Warwick 
			 Westminster Westbourne

Police

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what long-term funding has been allocated to (a) rural policing, (b) community support officers and (c) neighbourhood police teams.

Hazel Blears: We have provided £165 million to police authorities from the Rural Policing Fund since 2000–01. The annual provision is £30 million. We are currently considering rolling up a number of specific grants, including the Rural Policing Fund, into a single pot for each authority, to give police authorities greater financial flexibility. There are no plans to reduce the current level of funding for each authority.
	The Neighbourhood Policing Fund will provide £88 million in 2006–07 and £340 million in 2007–08. In addition, we will continue to support the costs of community support officers (CSOs) recruited in the first three rounds from 2002 onwards. The grant will assist the police service to reach our target of 24,000 CSOs by 2008 and will support police authorities in building their own Neighbourhood Policing Teams.

Police

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were as of 1 April 2005 in each police force in England and Wales; and what the percentage at each rank was of the total establishment.

Hazel Blears: The breakdown of Police Service strength for 31 March 2005 was published on 25 July 2005 and is available in the Library and on www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1205.pdf.

Police

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government is taking to improve (a) community engagement and (b) neighbourhood policing in Bedfordshire; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The Government is committed to every area in England and Wales benefiting from dedicated, visible, accessible and responsive neighbourhood policing teams by 2008. A key aim of these teams will be to build more effective engagement with the public.
	To support this, the Home Office and the Association of Police Authorities convened the National Practitioner Panel for Community Engagement in Policing. The panel has created a Guide to Community Engagement which is a resource for all policing practitioners, and which contains both practical and strategic advice for practitioners who want to develop or improve their approach to engagement. The guide is supported by a database of case studies which showcases recent and ongoing work around the country, and encourages policing practitioners to network with, and learn from, their peers.
	The Government is working closely with the police service to develop neighbourhood policing, initially within pathfinder areas in every force. In Bedfordshire, this is Luton Division.

Police

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide additional financial and other support to the Northamptonshire police.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 1 November 2005
	Northamptonshire received an excellent grant settlement this year. General grants increased by 5.5 per cent. to £67.8 million, significantly higher than the 3.75 per cent. minimum increase guaranteed to all police authorities. The force has also received around £7.5 million for specific grants for initiatives such as the crime fighting fund, which has helped maintain the record number of police officers, and for capital.
	Details of the provisional police funding settlement for 2006–07, and for 2007–08 as part of the move towards three-year settlements, will be announced in late November/early December.
	The police standards unit have been working with Northamptonshire police since spring 2004 on a number of projects to help improve performance and the force has been provided with just under £1 million to support this work.

Prisoner Deaths

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have died as a result of self-inflicted injuries in prisons operating (a) above certified normal accommodation (CNA) and (b) at or below CNA in each of the past five years.

Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested is provided in the table.
	
		
			 Calendar year Number of apparent self-inflicted deaths (SIDs) Number of apparent SIDs that took place in prisons operating over CNA(24) Number of apparent SIDs that took place in prisons operating below CNA 
		
		
			 2000 81 52 29 
			 2001 (25)73 46 26 
			 2002 95 77 18 
			 2003 (25)94 81 12 
			 2004 95 73 22 
			 Total 438 329 107 
		
	
	(24) Though the holding prisons were, at the end of the month in which the prisoners died, operating over their respective CNAs, this does not necessarily mean that the prisoners who died were accommodated in 'crowded' conditions—for example, one of two prisoners accommodated in a cell certified for one.
	(25) One death in 2001 and one death in 2003 occurred in the custody of the Prison Escort and Custody Services.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the extent of drugs being (a) taken into prisons by (i) prisoners, (ii) visitors, (iii) governors, (iv) officers and (v) other staff and (b) thrown over prison walls; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: There has been no such assessment. However, a recent internal review was carried out which looked at methods of entry of illegal drugs into prisons with a view to sharing good practice. Recommendations included giving greater priority to the use of intelligence, targeting the use of mobile phones by prisoners, increased intelligence-led searching, and a managed approach to disrupt the activities of prisoners engaged in drug trafficking.

Prisons

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ease overcrowding in prisons.

Fiona Mactaggart: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) keeps under review the demand on prison places and the capacity of prisons to accommodate those prisoners sent to them by the courts. It is ensuring maximum use of all spare capacity within the prison estate, increasing useable operational capacity in prisons by building additional places as part of an ongoing funded building programme, and returning to use accommodation at existing prisons.
	The Government have introduced credible, intensive community sentences, which courts can tailor to individual offenders who might have otherwise received ineffective short prison sentences. We have also alerted courts to the availability of electronic monitoring to support a curfew imposed as a condition of bail. Courts are being encouraged to use this option instead of a remand in custody in appropriate cases.

Prisons

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to tackle prison overcrowding; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) keeps under review the demand on prison places and the capacity of prisons to accommodate those prisoners sent to them by the courts. It is ensuring maximum use of all spare capacity within the prison estate, increasing useable operational capacity in prisons by building additional places as part of an ongoing funded building programme, and returning to use accommodation at existing prisons.
	The Government have introduced credible, intensive community sentences, which courts can tailor to individual offenders who might have otherwise received ineffective short prison sentences. We have also alerted courts to the availability of electronic monitoring to support a curfew imposed as a condition of bail. Courts are being encouraged to use this option instead of a remand in custody in appropriate cases.

Prisons

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the implications of the ruling in R. v. Leonard Cheshire Foundation (2002) H.R.L.R.30 on the applicability of the Human Rights Act 1998 to prisons built and operated under contract by non-public authorities.

Fiona Mactaggart: H.R.L.R.30 for prisons built and operated under contract by commercial organisations.

Prisons

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average amount of purposeful activity undertaken by a prisoner has been in each prison in England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The average number of weekly purposeful activity hours for each establishment during each of the financial years since 1997–98 is shown in the table.
	
		Average number of weekly purposeful activity hours for each establishment during each of the financial years since 1997–98
		
			 Establishment 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Acklington 25.5 23.8 23.8 23.5 23.2 23.6 24.4 24.1 
			 Albany 24 23.8 19.2 23.5 24.2 21.6 22.2 20.9 
			 Altcourse 24.6 20.5 25.5 32.9 34.3 32.7 34.4 37.0 
			 Ashfield n/a n/a 24 28.3 27.1 25.7 29.3 30.8 
			 Ashwell 32.6 33.3 30.8 31.1 31.7 29.2 31 30.3 
			 Askham Grange 41.8 42 41.6 41.2 41.1 41 41.4 41.5 
			 Aylesbury 22.6 20.9 18.4 15.7 17.4 17.8 19.1 20.9 
			 Bedford 25.6 22.7 22.9 20.9 19.8 17.7 18.1 19.9 
			 Belmarsh 11.8 13.2 12.8 13.3 11 11.3 14.6 16.2 
			 Birmingham 10.9 13.3 15.2 16 19.3 19.9 18.8 18.1 
			 Blakenhurst 20.1 21.8 22.1 23.3 18.9 19.6 19.1 20.8 
			 Blantyre House 34.2 39.5 43.6 47.6 49 40.7 40.5 43.4 
			 Blundeston 23.2 25.8 24.5 26.2 25.8 23.1 21.9 24.8 
			 Brinsford 15.3 16.3 16.8 21.9 27.5 26.1 28.7 28.7 
			 Bristol 20.1 21.3 20.9 22.6 21.1 21.3 22.3 21.0 
			 Brixton 17.1 15.7 11.1 15.6 16.6 12.7 10.4 15.4 
			 Brockhill 30.7 21.1 18.2 20.8 18.2 16.1 18.1 22.4 
			 Buckley Hall 32.8 26.6 31.7 31.8 30.3 26.8 30.8 31.2 
			 Bullingdon 20.9 21.2 14.4 14.6 13.8 13.7 17.5 18.6 
			 Bullwood Hall 21.6 19 19.6 21.5 27.2 27.9 27.7 27.6 
			 Camp Hill 20.9 19.3 19.9 22 21.4 19.3 19.1 21.3 
			 Canterbury 17.5 18.5 19.9 19.6 18 17.4 21.9 22.0 
			 Cardiff 22 21.3 20.6 23.6 20.4 19.1 21.5 24.3 
			 Castington 23.4 20.7 19.8 24.6 25.1 21.9 22.9 28.2 
			 Channings Wood 29.6 30.5 34.9 33.6 33.5 31.2 28.6 27.3 
			 Chelmsford 16 15.8 16.8 18.2 18.8 15.4 15.8 19.7 
			 Coldingley 38.1 40.7 43.8 40.9 38.2 35.3 34 33.2 
			 Cookham Wood 23.6 22.3 24.4 24.2 22 23 22.5 25.2 
			 Dartmoor 18.8 18.9 19.9 18 21.6 20.9 23.3 24.9 
			 Deerbolt 21.7 19.9 21.1 21.4 21.1 19.9 20.5 22.9 
			 Doncaster 16.7 17 18.3 19.1 20.1 19.6 19.6 21.2 
			 Dorchester 16.2 14.4 19.5 17.2 15.7 18.2 17.6 16.2 
			 Dovegate n/a n/a n/a n/a 27.5 25.7 25.5 29.6 
			 Dover 21.7 21.2 23.4 25.2 27.3 22.5 n/a 0.0 
			 Downview 31.5 30.8 29.8 30.5 23.7 24.7 23.2 28.1 
			 Drake Hall 35.1 34.9 35.9 35.8 35.8 33.5 33.3 35.5 
			 Durham 16.7 20.2 18.7 19.8 20.3 19.1 18 17.8 
			 East Sutton Park 38.4 40.1 40.1 41.2 42 43.1 46.4 46.0 
			 Eastwood Park 19.7 21.6 21.6 23.6 19.4 18.8 17.9 18.5 
			 Edmunds Hill(27) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 21 26.4 
			 Elmley 19 20.2 21.8 21.6 18.6 18.6 20.6 18.8 
			 Erlestoke 29 27.2 28.4 26.8 27.9 27.1 25.5 27.1 
			 Everthorpe 25.8 27 26.3 27.1 28 31.6 28.1 24.9 
			 Exeter 17.9 13.6 15 23 22.9 21.6 22.5 23.0 
			 Featherstone 23.7 24.7 26.1 24.3 24.2 24.4 23 22.0 
			 Feltham 19.6 15.5 15.2 14.4 24.7 22.3 28.1 28.7 
			 Ford 33.7 35.6 38.8 38.3 39.8 39.4 37.6 38.6 
			 Forest Bank n/a n/a 18.5 27.5 21.7 19.2 20.9 24.7 
			 Foston Hall 21.3 23.4 25.7 25.4 25.4 25.3 24.5 23.9 
			 Frankland 17 18.4 19.4 21.3 20.9 21.6 22.2 22.0 
			 Full Sutton 18 17.6 18.7 17.8 17.4 16.8 19 19.8 
			 Garth 21 21.2 21.2 23.7 23.4 23.4 24.2 23.5 
			 Gartree 26.5 27 28.4 30.1 30.5 28.9 30.5 29.2 
			 Glen Parva 16.5 16.7 16 18.3 18.2 17.9 17.4 18.0 
			 Gloucester 20.6 26.4 29.4 29.5 20.5 16.2 20.2 20.4 
			 Grendon 33.3 34.2 35.2 37.2 35.6 33.4 32.5 30.8 
			 Guys Marsh 30.9 22.8 27.9 26.5 22.6 22.7 22.4 24.7 
			 Haslar 21.4 18.8 16.1 16.7 15.2 15 15.4 16.4 
			 Hatfield(26) 37.2 32.5 40.6 36.7 37.1 38.4 n/a n/a 
			 Haverigg 33.8 33.9 33.8 33.6 31.1 30.4 29.9 28.5 
			 Hewell Grange 41.2 42.7 41.8 44.3 42.6 41.1 42.1 41.9 
			 High Down 15.7 13.9 16.4 15.8 15.9 14.1 15.2 14.6 
			 Highpoint(27) 17.7 23.2 20.9 18.9 18.9 18 19.9 22.0 
			 Hindley 20.1 23.8 24 28.6 20.5 34.9 34.5 32.0 
			 Hollesley Bay(28) 28.1 28.1 33.8 36.2 36.5 32.6 38.3 40.7 
			 Holloway 18.7 17.6 15.4 21.9 20.3 15.8 16.9 20.3 
			 Holme House 16 15.8 16.6 16.6 15.5 14.4 15.8 16.7 
			 Hull 18.6 20.1 22.5 21.9 20.5 15.3 15.8 16.1 
			 Huntercombe 25.1 23.8 26.3 23.9 26.7 26.5 30.1 30.9 
			 Kingston 28.6 23.9 23.9 24.2 24.3 23.3 25.1 26.4 
			 Kirkham 54.8 43.5 44.3 43.7 43.4 41.3 40.4 41.7 
			 Kirklevington 48.8 50.1 52.5 54.3 51.6 53 51.7 53.9 
			 Lancaster 22.7 20.7 23.2 28.7 24.9 22.9 23.7 26.6 
			 Lancaster Farms 22.4 20.5 20.6 22.5 22.6 23.3 26.1 25.9 
			 Latchmere House 72.8 70.2 74.1 63.6 61.2 55.6 57.6 59.9 
			 Leeds 15.5 14.8 14.5 16.5 18.7 17.5 18.1 22.1 
			 Leicester 21.4 20.5 19.3 19 21 21.4 23.1 23.2 
			 Lewes 18.5 18.5 18.8 18 18.6 19.5 21 21.5 
			 Leyhill 38.5 39 38.8 39 37.8 39.1 37.9 37.3 
			 Lincoln 19.6 22.9 24.9 24.5 18.6 18.3 19.3 20.9 
			 Lindholme 25.3 24.2 26.9 26.7 27.7 24.3 25.9 27.3 
			 Littlehey 29.8 26 25.5 23.5 23.1 21.5 20.2 20.9 
			 Liverpool 16.5 18.7 22.6 22.9 17.7 14 18.6 21.7 
			 Long Lartin 15.6 17 16.5 17.8 18.3 18.5 15.7 19.1 
			 Low Newton 21.7 20.2 25.5 25.1 23.7 23.9 24.6 24.8 
			 Lowdham Grange n/a 25.3 24.7 24 27.2 27.5 26.8 26.5 
			 Maidstone 22.5 21.3 22.3 21.7 21 17.6 19.1 21.7 
			 Manchester 29.4 26.7 22.2 19.4 19.7 19.8 19.6 19.5 
			 Moorland(26) 25.3 24 23.1 24.7 25 25.3 27.6 28.7 
			 Morton Hall 39.1 37.8 41.4 41.7 30.7 32 31.9 31.6 
			 Mount 18.4 18 18.6 18.3 20 19.7 20.4 22.0 
			 New Hall 22.9 23.8 23.1 23.5 22.9 24.1 23.5 24.7 
			 North Sea Camp 42.4 45.1 41 42.3 42.2 41.8 40.4 39.4 
			 Northallerton 14.7 14.5 17.6 18.8 22.1 23.3 22.3 25.9 
			 Norwich 18.1 18 19.2 20 18.9 17.4 17.9 21.5 
			 Nottingham 18.1 15.3 20.6 18.3 17.2 18.1 19.2 20.7 
			 Onley 20 18.4 17.4 18.6 18 23 28.1 27.0 
			 Parc n/a 30 36.2 25.3 26.8 24.4 26.3 31.3 
			 Parkhurst 20.1 19.5 21.5 20.5 19.1 15.2 20.3 21.4 
			 Pentonville 19.6 20.3 20.4 17.8 15 14.1 14.1 13.3 
			 Portland 29.4 23.1 22.8 23.4 24.5 23.2 20.9 19.1 
			 Preston 17.4 17.1 16.8 21.6 21.1 19.8 21.1 21.0 
			 Ranby 30.2 26.4 25.8 25.4 23.6 24.1 25.1 25.3 
			 Reading 24.2 23.8 31.7 29.2 24.4 19.3 18.3 22.3 
			 Risley 22.7 21.9 22.3 23.8 25.2 22.7 23.7 24.8 
			 Rochester 18.7 19.1 17.5 21.5 23 22.7 20.2 23.0 
			 Rye Hill n/a n/a n/a 26 29.4 28.5 28.5 27.7 
			 Send 35.1 40.6 31.6 31.7 31.4 30 30.6 32.7 
			 Shepton Mallet 23.7 22.7 20.7 23.6 23 23.5 24.6 24.4 
			 Shrewsbury 21.4 22.7 23.2 24.9 23.8 17.8 19.5 20.1 
			 Stafford 25 22.4 24.8 26.5 26.4 26.3 24.1 24.2 
			 Standford Hill 43.7 44.1 39.7 41 39.7 39.8 38.1 37.6 
			 Stocken 27.1 23.2 22.1 23.2 23.2 26.1 26 26.1 
			 Stoke Heath 21.6 21.6 22.5 24.4 25.8 20.4 21.8 23.6 
			 Styal 28.6 28.7 21.7 24.3 24.9 21.9 21 23.2 
			 Sudbury 47.2 44.5 43.4 41.7 41.5 42 42 41.4 
			 Swaleside 22 22.3 21.3 25.2 24.4 24.4 27.2 24.5 
			 Swansea 15 20 20.8 22.4 22 19.7 21.1 22.3 
			 Swinfen Hall 25.5 28.9 30.7 28.9 28 27.2 28.7 25.9 
			 Thorn Cross 50.3 50.3 45.3 42.7 43.9 42.7 42.8 43.1 
			 Usk·Prescoed 35.5 34.9 37.5 38.8 37.9 37.1 35.9 35.8 
			 Verne 30.9 27.2 30.9 27.6 28.4 31.6 30.9 31.4 
			 Wakefield 17.8 18.2 20 19 18.2 18 16 16.7 
			 Wandsworth 22 18.9 18.4 18.1 17.1 16.7 16.8 20.5 
			 Warren Hill(28) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 26.2 24.6 
			 Wayland 24.6 24 24 23.3 20.8 24.7 24.8 26.1 
			 Wealstun 33.7 30.6 32.9 32.8 32.6 32.5 33 29.8 
			 Weare 19.6 20.8 20.7 19.9 18.8 17.8 18.6 19.8 
			 Wellingborough 25.1 24.9 25 25.3 28.1 25 22.6 22.6 
			 Werrington 36.5 24 37.9 37.1 32.6 30.1 27.3 30.7 
			 Wetherby 29.5 28.3 27.9 26.6 27.1 28.9 29.1 27.8 
			 Whatton 30.6 28.8 29.9 29.9 30.7 29.8 29.8 31.6 
			 Whitemoor 18.5 19.6 21.4 21.6 20.2 20.6 21.2 21.3 
			 Winchester 17.2 15.7 15.2 16.8 19 18.8 20.4 22.2 
			 Wolds 31 29.1 28.9 28.5 28.3 28.7 29.2 30.2 
			 Woodhill 20.9 19.8 17.9 17.6 16 16.2 15.4 16.3 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 13.6 14.2 19.3 21.3 18.5 14.6 18.4 22.2 
			 Wymott 34.4 28.7 29.8 27.3 27.7 28.3 30.9 28.3 
		
	
	(26) Moorland and Hatfield merged in 2003–04.
	(27) Highpoint and Edmunds Hill began reporting separately in 2003–04.
	(28) Hollesley Bay and Warren Hill began reporting separately in 2003–04.

Prisons

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what was the average waiting time for prisoners to be transferred from their original prison to their next prison in the last period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the average waiting time for prisoners in Her Majesty's prisons to obtain a classification was in the last period for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Private Security Firms

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he gives to local authorities on the use of private security firms; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: From March 2004 the Home Office and the Security Industry Authority (SIA) have had extensive discussions with local authority licensing staff in preparation for the introduction of door supervisor licensing. The SIA continues to work in partnership with the police and local authorities to ensure that licensing requirements are met by individuals and companies throughout the private security industry.

Race for Justice Project

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to introduce the race for justice project commissioned by the Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Criminal Justice Board across the rest of England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: The race for justice project was commissioned in 2002 to identify the views of the minority ethnic communities about their perceptions of the agencies that work within the Criminal Justice System in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. It was designed to engage with black and minority ethnic communities, increase awareness, address concerns and try to increase confidence in the criminal justice system. In particular, the project has worked with newcomers to the area, producing a booklet 'Welcome to Britain' which addresses some of the main issues for newcomers to the Hampshire area.
	It is important that all LCJBs develop projects which reflect their local circumstances and that this is tailored to needs locally rather than seeking to simply introduce the Hampshire and Isle of Wight approach nationally.

Secure Training Centres

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what qualifications are held by each of the psychologists employed in each of the secure training centres.

Fiona Mactaggart: The minimum qualifications for psychologists employed at each secure training centre are defined in the contracts with the operators. The Hassockfield contract requires a degree in psychology leading to graduate registration with the British Psychological Society. The contracts for Medway, Rainsbrook and Oakhill each require a degree in psychology or an approved behavioural science degree.

Secure Training Centres

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many times each of the four secure training centres has been inspected in the past six years;
	(2)  how often each of the secure training centres received an unannounced visit by inspectors in each of the last six years.

Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested is given in the following tables.
	
		Unannounced inspections
		
			  Medway Rainsbrook Hassockfield Oakhill 
		
		
			 2000 0 0 0 (29)— 
			 2001 0 0 0 (29)— 
			 2002 0 0 0 (29)— 
			 2003 0 0 0 (29)— 
			 2004 0 1 1 1 
			 2005 (to date) 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		Announced inspections
		
			  Medway Rainsbrook Hassockfield Oakhill 
		
		
			 2000 1 1 1 (29)— 
			 2001 1 1 1 (29)— 
			 2002 1 1 1 (29)— 
			 2003 2 (30)0 1 (29)— 
			 2004 1 1 1 1 
			 2005 (to date) (31)0 1 1 1 
		
	
	(29) Opened August 2004
	(30) CSCI deferred planned inspection to early 2004.
	(31) Planned for December 2005

Sex Offenders

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent changes his Department has made in procedures for checking whether sex offenders are entering the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: All people coming to the UK are required to provide evidence of their identity and nationality. This is usually done by means of a passport or identity card. In addition checks are made against the UK watch list in all cases for non-EEA citizens and on a risk assessed basis for EEA citizens.
	In case of any doubts or if information held on immigration service databases indicates that someone is of interest, further inquiries including reference to the other border agencies may be made.

Tagged Offenders

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many tagged offenders re-offended while tagged in (a) Romford, (b) Havering and (c) Essex in the last period for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: The figures requested for the three areas in question are not available centrally and cannot be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what co-operation the police are providing to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs to tackle organised fraud in relation to tax credits; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: I understand that Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigators meet regularly with the police to discuss areas of mutual interest including organised fraud in the tax credits system. There are established mechanisms between HMRC and the police for the exchange of information and intelligence in relation to specific criminal activity. Where resources permit the police have been able to assist HMRC both in the arrest of suspects and in searching premises for evidence.

Travellers

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to amend section 62A to E of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to streamline the procedure for the removal of illegally encamped Travellers.

Paul Goggins: Sections 62A to E of the Criminal Justice and Public Order 1994 were introduced by the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 to provide the police with an additional power to deal with unauthorised encampments. The Government keeps all existing enforcement powers under review to ensure that they are adequate and public agencies are using them effectively.

TREASURY

Corporation of London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what meetings he has had with representatives of the Corporation of London in the last six months.

John Healey: At the Corporation's invitation, the Chancellor delivered the 2005 Mansion House speech.

Council Tax Revaluation

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the revaluation of council tax in Bedfordshire.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	The terms of reference for Sir Michael Lyons' independent inquiry require him to make recommendations on how best to reform council tax, taking into account revaluation of domestic property. My right hon. Friends the Deputy Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have agreed with Sir Michael that he will extend his work so that he can consider issues relating to the functions of local government and its future role, as well as, and prior to, making recommendations on local government funding. The Government have introduced into the House the Council Tax (New Valuation List for England) Bill which provides for the postponement of council tax revaluation. This will enable revaluation to take account of the Lyons Inquiry's extended work which will inform the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007.

Employment Statistics

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were (a) employed and (b) unemployed in each electoral ward in Cleethorpes constituency in each of the past 10 years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Shona McIsaac, dated 7 November 2005
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment. I am replying in her absence. (24754)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey following International Labour Organisation definitions. Estimates of unemployment are not available for wards as the survey sample size for such areas is too small.
	However, ONS also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming jobseeker's allowance. The attached table shows annual averages for 1996 to 2004 for wards within the Cleethorpes constituency.
	These statistics are published on the Office for National Statistics's Nomis(r) website: www.nomisweb.co.uk.
	
		Table 1: Jobseeker's allowance claimants resident in electoral wards of the Cleethorpes parliamentary constituency -- Annual averages
		
			 Electoral wards(32) 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Cleethorpes Alexandra 311 255 217 191 179 171 154 115 97 
			 Cleethorpes Beacon Hill 139 107 94 92 87 77 61 62 53 
			 Cleethorpes Central 181 161 128 122 111 93 84 63 80 
			 Cleethorpes Middlethorpe 78 67 63 50 42 41 37 38 27 
			 Cleethorpes North 316 287 283 266 245 208 185 154 150 
			 Cleethorpes Riverside 137 109 103 98 87 64 58 49 41 
			 Cleethorpes Sidney 290 235 213 201 168 158 141 119 80 
			 Cleethorpes Thrunscoe 147 131 115 107 93 86 75 57 49 
			 Habrough and Stallingborough 44 30 35 35 26 20 18 16 22 
			 Healing 48 40 30 31 30 27 17 18 18 
			 Humberston 117 94 79 82 80 69 43 44 43 
			 Immingham Bluestone 106 78 61 70 61 55 39 35 43 
			 Immingham Central 177 160 145 125 105 108 91 78 86 
			 Immingham Humber 326 294 278 214 168 178 161 123 133 
			 Laceby 72 62 52 52 47 39 33 25 27 
			 New Waltham 100 73 72 67 55 54 48 38 33 
			 Waltham 145 113 94 86 74 62 49 52 42 
			 Wold Parishes 61 54 54 58 44 39 40 35 13 
			 Abbey 115 92 92 83 68 65 52 59 54 
			 Barton-Upon-Humber Bridge 171 131 114 113 78 73 58 56 54 
			 Barton-Upon-Humber Park 227 176 161 150 130 114 93 97 71 
			 Goxhill 47 35 30 30 26 27 22 18 23 
			 Humber 96 75 78 64 55 51 48 43 31 
			 Ulceby 68 50 44 41 36 31 28 23 26 
			 Total 3,519 2,909 2,635 2,428 2,095 1,910 1,635 1,417 1,296 
		
	
	(32) Electoral wards are defined on the basis of the boundaries as they were in 1991
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus administrative systems

Grant-in-Aid

Don Foster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much grant-in-aid the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its predecessors spent as a percentage of gross domestic product in each year since 1993; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
	I am unable to provide the exact data sought: accruals based expenditure data has only been available since 1999–2000. The following table sets out the Department's expenditure in each financial year since then as a percentage of GDP.
	
		
			  DCMS Expenditure (£ millions)  Percentage of GDP 
		
		
			 1999–2000 1,098 0.12 
			 2000–01 1,135 0.12 
			 2001–02 1,112 0.11 
			 2002–03 1,305 0.12 
			 2003–04 1,434 0.13 
			 2004–05 1,502 0.13

Hemel Hempstead

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of youth unemployment has been in Hemel Hempstead constituency in each of the last five years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Michael Penning, dated 7 November 2005
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about youth unemployment. I am replying in her absence. (25821)
	Table 1, attached, shows the total numbers of unemployed young people aged 16 to 24 who were resident in the Hemel Hempstead Parliamentary Constituency. The table covers the 12 month periods ending in February each year from 2001 to 2004 and the 12 month period ending in March 2005. These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to sampling variability. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution.
	The Office for National Statistics also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). Table 2, attached, shows the annual average number of JSA claimants, aged 18 to 24, resident in the Hemel Hempstead constituency for 2000 to 2004.
	The data are published on the Office for National Statistics's Nomis website: www.nomisweb.co.uk.
	
		Table 1: Numbers of unemployed, aged 16 to 24, resident in the Hemel Hempstead constituency -- Thousand
		
			 12 months ending Number 
		
		
			 February 2001 (33)— 
			 February 2002 (33)— 
			 February 2003 1 
			 February 2004 1 
			 March 2005 1 
		
	
	(33) Disclosive (sample size less than three).
	Note:
	The estimates for local areas are based on very small sample sizes and are subject to a very high degree of sampling variability. Changes from year to year, especially, should be treated with caution.
	Source:
	Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey
	
		Table 2: JSA claimants, aged 18 to 24, resident in the Hemel Hempstead constituency—Annual averages
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2000 165 
			 2001 160 
			 2002 215 
			 2003 265 
			 2004 275 
		
	
	Note:
	1. Computerised claims only.
	2. Data rounded to nearest 5 for disclosure control.
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus Administrative system

Revenue and Customs

Tim Farron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for the future provision of HM Revenue and Customs customer service offices in Cumbria.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs is preparing business plans to meet its efficiency savings for 2005–08. HMRC have more than 600 offices and there is a constant backdrop of change arising from leases ending and other circumstances beyond their or their estate suppliers control, such as compulsory purchase.
	Although there will be changes to some HMRC offices the Department will continue to recognise its Public Service Agreement objectives to improve customer experience, support business and reduce the compliance burden and will continue to provide a face-to-face service to customers for whom it is the most appropriate form of contact.

Illegal Fuel (Northern Ireland)

Peter Robinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money HM Revenue and Customs received through fines and enforcement orders directly related to the illegal use of fuel in motor vehicles in Northern Ireland in 2004–05.

John Healey: HM Revenue and Customs does not receive any revenue in connection to fines issued by a court. In 2004–05 there were two fines imposed by the court directly related to the illegal use of fuel totalling £5,000.
	In addition HM Revenue and Customs collected on behalf of the Exchequer a total of £354,893 in respect of civil penalties in relation to vehicles seized.

Irish People

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in each ward, of each county, described themselves as Irish in the 2001 census.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 7 November 2005
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in each (a) county and (b) ward, broken down by county described themselves as Irish in the 2001 Census. I am replying in her absence. (25600)
	The number of people who described their ethnicity to be Irish, broken down by both ward and county, is available in table KS06 on the CD supplement to the Key Statistics for local authorities in England and Wales, which is available in the House of Commons Library.

Lisbon Goals

Adam Holloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of progress towards the Lisbon goals for European economic reform.

John Healey: In Growth and Opportunity: Prioritising Economic Reform in Europe" (HM Treasury, February 2005) the Government set out their assessment of the Lisbon strategy. While some progress has been made, concerted action is still needed to increase employment and productivity in Europe.
	In particular, to meet the Lisbon target of 70 per cent. employment by 2010, 23 million more Europeans will need to find work. This necessitates a comprehensive programme of reform to improve levels of skills in the labour force and to facilitate greater adaptability to change.
	In addition, US productivity levels remain substantially above those in the EU. Tackling this requires further structural reform to enhance product market competition in Europe and to create the right climate for enterprise and innovation to flourish.
	A further assessment of the structural economic challenges facing Europe was set out in Global Europe: Full Employment Europe" published by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in October 2005 available at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/international_ issues/eu_presidency_2005/eu_presidency_2005_index.cfm

Lisbon Goals

Adam Holloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to use the UK's presidency of the European Union to achieve progress towards the Lisbon goals for European economic reform.

John Healey: As set out in the Work Programme of the Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) Council, a key priority for the UK presidency of the European Union is to build
	prosperous, dynamic European economies through implementation of the new Lisbon Agenda to deliver sustainable growth and high employment".
	At an Informal ECOFIN Council on 10 September in Manchester, Ministers and the European Commission agreed on the need for urgent action—at the European level and nationally in the context of Lisbon National Reform Programmes—to deliver growth and full employment for Europe in a global economy, including through:
	modern social and labour market policies that match flexibility with fairness and equip citizens with the skills to succeed;
	further regulatory reform to reduce excessive burdens on business;
	further progress on completing the Single Market, including in services; and
	greater Trade openness, globally and between the EU and its major trade and investment partners.
	The Government is using its presidency to promote progress in all of these areas.

Manufacturing, Science and Engineering

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the impact on gross domestic product of changes to the (a) manufacturing, (b) science and (c) engineering sectors of the domestic economy over the next 10 years.

Alun Michael: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government do not produce 10-year forecasts for sectors of the economy, but the Government do have a number of policies to assist the manufacturing, science and engineering sectors. These include the Government manufacturing strategy, which is based on applying science and innovation, world-class practice, raising investment, and a high level of skills to create high-value manufacturing and engineering sectors and drive up productivity. By 2007–08 we will have doubled the science budget, from £1.3 billion in 1997–98 to £3.3 billion, with the long-term objective of increasing overall R&D spend to 2.5 per cent. of GDP by 2014 from its current level of around 1.9 per cent.

Oil Companies (Windfall Tax)

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the merits of levying a windfall tax on UK oil companies; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: All taxes are kept under review as part of the Budget cycle. The Government are committed to delivering a tax regime for the North sea which promotes investment and take a fair share of revenue derived from a national resource.

Oil Prices

Adam Holloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of oil prices on (a) revenues to the Exchequer and (b) the UK economy.

John Healey: The impact of higher oil prices on the public finances and the economy is discussed in Box 2.5 in the 2004 pre-Budget report.
	As the Chancellor said in his statement to the International Monetary and Financial Committee on 24 September, compared to the Budget forecast the increases in oil prices over the last few months are likely to have dampened activity in the UK economy to some extent.
	But the UK's macroeconomic framework today is founded on stability—with inflation expectations well anchored—in contrast to the volatility and high inflation that has dogged the UK economy in the past. The UK is therefore better placed than before to deal with the challenges of the global economy, including those posed by higher oil prices.
	The Government will publish an update of the effect of oil prices on the UK's public finances and updated forecasts for the UK and world economies in the 2005 pre-Budget report as usual, taking into account all relevant factors and developments.

Parliamentary Ombudsman

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make available increased resources to the Parliamentary Ombudsman to allow him to appoint more investigating officers.

John Healey: A three year settlement from 2005–06 to 2007–08 was recently agreed for the Office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. This settlement funds the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's three year strategic plan and provides for increased resources. The precise application of those resources is a matter for the Ombudsman. The budget for 2005–06 will be included in the Winter Supplementary Estimate which will be laid before Parliament later this month.

Planning Gain Supplement

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 21 October 2005, Official Report, column 1315W, on planning gain supplement, whether Kate Barker's recommendations to his Department stated whether the planning gain supplement should be (a) revenue-neutral, (b) revenue-raising, (c) kept in full by local councils and (d) transferred in whole or part to central Government.

John Healey: Kate Barker's recommendations are set out in her March 2004 Review of Housing Supply.
	As set out in the March 2005 economic and fiscal strategy report, the Government will respond later this year.

Plastic Carrier Bags

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Government have to introduce a tax on plastic carrier bags.

John Healey: The Chancellor continues to keep all taxes under review. The Government have no plans to introduce a plastic bags tax.

Productivity

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the annual change in gross domestic product per hour worked was in each year since 1975; and what assessment he has made of whether productivity trends are improving.

John Healey: Official statistics for whole economy output per hour is only available from 1993. The annual change in whole economy output per hour for each year since then is:
	
		Annual growth in whole economy output per hour -- Percentage
		
			  Annual growth 
		
		
			 1994 3.0 
			 1995 1.4 
			 1996 1.7 
			 1997 1.5 
			 1998 2.6 
			 1999 2.2 
			 2000 3.8 
			 2001 1.0 
			 2002 1.8 
			 2003 2.0 
			 2004 2.5 
		
	
	Source:
	ONS
	The pre-Budget report 2005 will include an updated assessment on productivity performance in the UK. As reported in the HM Treasury Departmental Report 2005, the UK is making progress in boosting its productivity performance: between 1997 and 2001Q3, the UK trend rate of actual productivity growth on an output per worker basis (figures not adjusted for employment growth) is estimated to have grown by 2.5 per cent. a year compared with a growth rate of 2 per cent. a year in the previous economic cycle (1986Q2—1997H1). Adjusting for the effect of employment growth, it is estimated that the underlying trend rate of productivity growth was 2.7 per cent. between 1997H1—2001Q3 compared to 2.2 per cent. over the previous economic cycle (1986Q2—1997H1).

Sustainable Development Strategy

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to encourage people to live more sustainable lifestyles within the framework of the Government's sustainable development strategy.

John Healey: Sustainable development must be a thread that runs through all of the Government's policy making. In including sustainable development as a cross cutting theme in the 2004 Spending Review the Treasury has demonstrated how this can be done.
	Within the context of the Government's Sustainable Development Strategy each Department agreed to a number of high-level contributions to deliver the strategy. It is within these agreed contributions that HM Treasury seeks to set signals that encourage individuals to live more sustainable lifestyles. HM Treasury's five key contributions to delivering the Sustainable Development Strategy are:
	Building a strong and productive economy and a fair society where there is opportunity and security for all;
	A transparent public expenditure delivery framework, based on public service agreements, that focus on delivering public services in areas integral to achieving Sustainable Development in the UK, such as reducing child poverty and reducing unemployment;
	Making use of the fiscal system, where appropriate, to tackle environmental externalities through developing further environmental taxes, such as the recent increases in the standard rate of landfill tax; creating tax incentives for cleaner technologies through enhanced capital allowances and adding an environmental dimension to transport taxation, for example through fuel duty differentials to encourage the use of cleaner fuels;
	A commitment to strong local government, supporting local authorities in their delivery of key public services to all communities, for example through the introduction of the three-year revenue and capital settlements, which will improve local authorities' ability to make sustainable long-term plans; and
	Continuing to meet the relevant sustainable development objectives in public procurement by having a consistent approach to value for money and whole life costs of goods and services procured, and by building relevant sustainability issues into the procurement process as early as possible.

Sustainable Development Strategy

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to implement the guidelines on (a) water usage, (b) travel arrangements and (c) procurement in the Sustainable Development Report and Action Plan 2005.

John Healey: A delivery action plan related to our most significant impacts is summarised in section 1.6 of the Report and Action Plan http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/F2D/19/sustainabledev.pdf. In line with that action plan, our PFI partner, Exchequer Partnership, is working with ADSM in an effort to identify measures for further reducing our water usage; we continue to encourage staff to use telephone and video conferencing as a means of reducing business mileage; and we are working with our procurement service provider, HMRC, to develop a sustainable procurement strategy which will form part of our new Sustainable Development Action Plan.

Tax Credits

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects of (a) research and development tax credits, (b) vaccines research relief and (c) contaminated land tax credits; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him on 14 June 2005, Official Report, column 341W on R&D tax credits. The results from the survey of R&D companies mentioned in that reply are expected to be published later this year on the HM Revenue and Customs website.
	The impact of contaminated land tax credit (CLTC) is being examined by a research study commissioned by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) that is currently being undertaken by the university of Ulster. Once completed, the findings of this research should be made available on the Departments' websites.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Paymaster General's evidence to the Treasury sub-committee on 26 October, if he will place in the Library a copy of the new and agreed tax credit award notice to be issued from April 2006.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 24 October 2005, Official Report, column 53W.

Unemployment

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of adults of working age were (a) unemployed and (b) economically inactive in each year since 1997, broken down by constituency.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell to Julia Goldsworthy, dated 7 November 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about unemployment and economic inactivity. (24099)
	Table 1, attached, shows the total numbers and percentages of persons of working age who are unemployed for all constituencies in Great Britain. Note that these are not equivalent to unemployment rates. Table 2, attached, shows the total numbers and percentages of persons of working age who are economically inactive for all constituencies in Great Britain.
	The tables cover the 12 month periods ending in February each year from 1998 to 2004 and the 12 month period ending in March 2005. These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to sampling variability.
	The Office for National Statistics also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (ISA). Table 3, attached, shows the annual average number of ISA claimants for all constituencies in the United Kingdom for 1997 to 2004.
	Since the information is so extensive, copies have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	The data are published on the Office for National Statistics's Nomis website: www.nomisweb.co.uk.

DEFENCE

0870 Numbers

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the occasions in the last five years on which 0870 telephone numbers have been used by his Department as contact numbers for members of the public; and how much revenue was received from the use of 0870 contact numbers in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Don Touhig: The use of 0870 numbers in the Department is determined at local level in accordance with individual business requirements. Records of 0870 numbers and the revenue received from them is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Air Support Units

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2005, Official Report, column 659W, on air support units, what air support was available to British forces in northern Afghanistan during the week commencing 24 October.

John Reid: The United Kingdom Forces in northern Afghanistan serve as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and are based in Mazar-e-Sharif (MeS), northern Afghanistan.
	A wide range of air assets were available to ISAF in support of its mission in northern Afghanistan during the week commencing 24 October including: combat and reconnaissance air capability provided by the Belgians, Dutch, French, UK and the US; transport aircraft provided by the French, Germans, Swedes and UK; and, support helicopters for casualty evacuation provided by the German army. During the period in question, the Netherlands also operated a heavy lift helicopter in support of the Afghan election process.

Armoured Vehicles

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his plans are concerning extending the service life of the current fleet of armoured vehicles before the Future Rapid Effect System comes into service.

Adam Ingram: FRES, together with the Panther Command and Liaison Vehicle, is planned to replace the Saxon, FV430 and CVR(T) vehicle families. How best to align the removal from service of these vehicle families with the introduction of FRES, while ensuring continuity of the required capability, will be informed by the work conducted during the FRES initial assessment phase.

Carbon Management Programme

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department will sign up to the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management programme.

Don Touhig: Ministry of Defence officials are continuing to discuss with the Carbon Trust what might be appropriate for the Department regarding the Carbon Management Programme within the context of the current partnership agreement.
	In August 2004 the MOD entered into a formal partnership agreement with the Carbon Trust. Through the agreement, the Carbon Trust is providing support to the MOD on gaining an overall understanding of climate change and assistance in improving energy efficiency and cutting carbon emissions. A programme of work under the partnership arrangement has been implemented which builds on energy surveys carried out on MOD establishments and funded by the Carbon Trust or its predecessor organisation. Individual projects range from identifying the estate wide opportunities for installing renewable energy technologies through to detailed appraisals of energy use on individual sites.

Correspondence

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to improve the Department's performance in replying to correspondence from the general public.

Don Touhig: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 November 2005, Official Report, columns 1067–68W.

Defence Expenditure

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the trend in real terms expenditure on defence since 1997.

Adam Ingram: Under the spending review 2004 settlement, the Ministry of Defence budget will increase by £3.7 billion from £29.7 billion in 2004–05 to £33.4 billion in 2007–08, representing 1.4 per cent. average annual growth in real terms over the next three years. This has cemented the longest sustained increase of the defence budget in 20 years and by 2007–08, planned near-cash defence spending will be some 7.5 per cent. higher in real terms than in 1997; currently it is 4.4 per cent. in real terms above 1997 levels.

Departmental Skills Development Plan

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which individual is responsible for developing and implementing his Department's skills development plan.

Don Touhig: The Department's skills development plan is developed by a number of MOD central directorates on behalf of the deputy chief of the Defence staff (personnel) and the Department's personnel director. Implementation is taken forward by central directorates, working closely with the staffs of the principal personnel officers in the single services and the MOD civil service.

Departmental Skills Development Plan

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's Skills Development Plan.

Don Touhig: We will place copies in the Library of the House shortly.

Departmental Staff (Literacy and Numeracy)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what methods of assessment of (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills are used as part of the recruitment process by employees of his Department.

Don Touhig: The Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force presently use bespoke numeracy and literacy assessments as part of the recruiting process. Both then utilise a nationally recognised literacy and numeracy assessment tool during initial training. The Army uses the Basic Skills Agency's paper-based literacy and numeracy tests during the recruiting process and is currently assisting the DfES to develop new literacy and numeracy initial assessment tools. It is intended to use the new DfES assessment tool, once available, in the recruiting process across all of the armed services from 1 April 2006.
	Assessment of the literacy and numeracy skills of recruits to the Ministry of Defence civil service may form part of the educational qualifications required or be part of a competency-based interview.

Parliamentary Questions

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to make substantive responses to the questions about the future aircraft carriers tabled by the hon. Member for New Forest East for answer on 27 October 2005, references (a) 21707, (b) 21706, (c) 21705, (d) 21704 and (e) 21703.

Adam Ingram: I replied to the hon. Member on 2 November 2005, Official Report, columns 1068–69W.

Iraq

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many trainers NATO member states have contributed to training the Iraqi Security Forces; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: All 26 NATO countries have agreed to provide support to the NATO Training Mission-Iraq by providing personnel, equipment or funding to train the Iraqi Security Forces in and outside Iraq. There are 166 NATO personnel in Iraq assisting with training and equipping the Iraqi Security Forces under the auspices of the NATO Training Mission-Iraq.

Iraq

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many units of the Iraqi Security Forces are able to conduct counter-insurgency operations without support from the multi-national forces;
	(2)  how many Iraqi (a) ground combat battalions and (b) military and special police forces are conducting operations against insurgency; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will make a statement on progress in recruiting and training of the Iraqi (a) army, (b) special operations force, (c) strategic infrastructure battalions, (d) navy, (e) air force, (f) police service, (g) special police forces, (h) special police commandos, (i) mechanised police, (j) public order police, (k) emergency response unit, (l) border forces and (m) highway patrol;
	(4)  what estimate the (a) Coalition and (b) Iraqi Government has made of the total combined force structure for the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of the Interior in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: As part of the Coalition force in Iraq, the United Kingdom's area of responsibility is in Multi-National Division (South East). The US has oversight of all Coalition forces in Iraq and it collates all Iraqi Security Force training figures through the Multinational Security Transition Command—Iraq.
	All the requested information is available in the United States Report to Congress, Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq". A copy of this report can be found on the internet at usinfo.state.gov

Iraq

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which body within the Iraqi Government is responsible for recruitment and vetting of Ministry of the Interior employees; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: Overall responsibility for recruitment and vetting of Ministry of Interior personnel rests with the Human Resource Administration Department in the Ministry of Interior. The Department comprises two sections—one responsible for dealing with enlisted personnel and the other with officers.

Iraq

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the number of Iraqi instructors is who have completed the Train the Trainer course organised by the NATO Training Mission in Iraq.

John Reid: The NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I) is helping to build the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) by providing training and advisory support. To date 283 Iraqis have been trained by NTM-I which includes 24 Iraqi students who received their diploma to become staff college instructors.

Iraq

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what proportion of time British troops deployed in Multi National Division in Iraq spend in (a) barracks and (b) on patrols; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many (a) routine British armed forces patrols and (b) joint patrols with Iraqi police forces have been undertaken in Iraq in Multinational Division South East in each month since January; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The frequency of patrols in Multi National Division (South East) is a matter for local operational judgment and is contingent on the circumstances UK forces find themselves in at any given time. The tasking levels for personnel in theatre are kept under constant review by commanders on the ground.
	We do not hold figures on the amount of time UK forces in Iraq spend on patrol or in barracks. UK troops patrol regularly, both independently and with Iraqi forces. We do not comment on the number of patrols they carry out for reasons of force protection.

Iraq

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British Army vehicles are in operation in Iraq; and how many are fitted with electronic countermeasures.

Adam Ingram: For reasons of operational security, it is not Government policy to make public details of the military capability—including specific countermeasures— deployed on operations.

Irish Regiments (Posthumous Pardons)

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to questions 24129 and 24125 when the Government received the submission of the Irish Government requesting that consideration be given to granting posthumous pardons to 26 soldiers of Irish regiments executed in the great war for cowardice or desertion; on what date discussions were held between the two Governments; and when he expects to announce the UK Government's response.

Don Touhig: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe on 2 November 2005, Official Report, column 1086W, and to the answer I gave on 2 November 2005, Official Report, columns 1070–71W. There have been both formal and informal contacts with the Irish Government on this subject since their first approach in December 2003, offering our assistance before their report was written and keeping them informed of progress on our response, which we will wish to discuss with them before any announcement is made.

Joint Combat Aircraft

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he expects to have available appropriate naval operating platforms for the joint combat aircraft (JCA) by the time that the United Kingdom's allocation of the JCA is ready to enter service.

Adam Ingram: The joint combat aircraft programme remains coherent with the future carrier programme. We intend to introduce the joint combat aircraft progressively, with the expectation that the naval platforms required to operate the aircraft will be available when the joint combat aircraft achieves its in-service date.

Married Quarters

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new build units in the married quarters estate are planned by his Department in each of the next three years; and how many houses this will replace from the existing married quarters estate.

Don Touhig: The following new build married quarters are planned in England, Wales and Scotland between now and 2008–09:
	
		Project -- Number of new builds
		
			 Financial year Portsmouth 2 Marchwood Credenhill Glencorse 
		
		
			 2005–06 — (34)40 — 89 
			 2006–07 128 (35)22 45 62 
			 2007–08 20 — — — 
			 2008–09 — — — — 
		
	
	(34) Replacing 14 demolished stock
	(35) Replacing 22 demolished stock

Married Quarters

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's married quarters are empty; what proportion of this represents his Department's management margin required for managing changes; and if he will make a statement.

Don Touhig: 7,905 married quarters are currently empty. The Ministry of Defence aims for a management margin of 10 per cent. Using overall stock levels, this would result in a management margin of some 4,900. The present excess is the result of a number of ongoing studies into future basing requirements and quarters are being held pending decisions.

Members' Visits

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many requests from hon. Members for visits to departmental sites have been refused in each of the last five years, broken down by political party.

Don Touhig: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of MPs refused Party 
		
		
			 2000 0 — 
			 2001 0 — 
			 2002 0 — 
			 2003 0 — 
			 2004 6 Labour 
			  4 Liberal Democrat 
			  1 Conservative 
			 2005 0 — 
		
	
	The above figures exclude visit requests to operational theatres. These figures also exclude visits that were turned down in the first instance but arranged at a later date.

Ordnance

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what agreement has been reached between Royal Ordnance and the Government on security of supply of initiators and boxer caps following the announcement on the Chorley Royal Ordnance site.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 3 November 2005
	Under the terms of the MOD-BAE Systems Land Systems Framework Partnering Agreement BAES are responsible for ensuring security of the supply of initiators and boxer caps. Detailed discussions have taken place regarding the implications of the Chorley closure and we remain confident in the company's ability to maintain security of supply.

QinetiQ

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what revenue guarantees from the Department have been (a) indicated and (b) requested by QinetiQ's investment bankers in respect of the company's prospective flotation.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 October 2005, Official Report, column 1216W.

RAF Recruitment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many 16 to 24-year-olds are expected to be recruited following the most recent annual Royal Air Force recruitment campaign.

Don Touhig: The most recent Royal Air Force recruitment campaign comprised two television advertisements that ran between 4 February and 31 March 2005. Data on how many 16 to 24-year-olds were recruited as a result of this campaign is not held. However, during the period the campaign ran, there were around 18,000 enquiries, which included some 1,800 16 to 24-year-olds who directly cited the campaign as the reason they were requesting further information.

Royal Irish Regiment

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what plans the Government have (a) to retrain and (b) to prepare for civilian life members of the Royal Irish Regiment; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many members of the Royal Irish Regiment who will be made redundant by 2007 reside in the Strangford constituency.

Don Touhig: We are considering the details of resettlement provision for Royal Irish (Home Service) personnel as part of our on-going work to finalise an appropriate overall settlement package.
	We recognise that members of the Home Service Battalions are anxious to know the outcome of this work. A substantive announcement will be made as soon as this work is complete but I cannot give a date at this stage.
	Currently a total of some 200 members of the Home Service Battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment reside in the Strangford constituency.

Special Nuclear Materials Load Carriers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has (a) to replace and (b) to upgrade the (Special Nuclear Materials) load carrier vehicles.

Adam Ingram: Investigations are currently being undertaken to fully scope the replacement of the existing SNM load carrier vehicles with the intention that replacement vehicles will enter service in 2008. There are no plans to upgrade the existing load carriers. The vehicles were however refurbished some nine months ago to enable them to meet programme requirements until the new vehicles are available.

Territorial Army (Kettering)

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list Territorial Army units located nearest to residents within the Kettering constituency.

Don Touhig: holding answer 31 October 2005
	Territorial Army units, located within a 35 mile radius of Kettering Town, are as follows:
	Unit
	118 Recovery Company Detachment, 104 Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
	203 Squadron Detachment, 158 Transport Regiment Royal Logistics Corps
	C (222) Medical Squadron, 4 General Supply Medical Regiment
	B Squadron, Royal Yeomanry
	118 Recovery Company Detachment, 104 Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
	C Company, East of England Regiment
	46 Signals Squadron Detachment, 38 Signals Regiment
	118 Recovery Company, 104 Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
	C Company Detachment, East of England Regiment
	Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) and Headquarters Sqn, 158 Transport Regiment, Royal Logistics Corps
	Royal Anglian Band
	89 Signals Sqn, 35 Signals Regiment
	201 Transport Squadron, 158 Transport Regiment, Royal Logistics Corps
	54 Signals Squadron Detachment, 36 Signals Regiment
	E (Royal Green Jackets) Company, Royal Rifle Volunteers

Trident

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost of re-fitting each of the Trident submarines was in each year since they were commissioned.

John Reid: holding answer 27 October 2005
	Trident submarine long overhaul period (refuel)s (LOP(R)s), formerly referred to as refits, are being undertaken progressively. The first LOP(R), on HMS Vanguard, has been completed and the second, on HMS Victorious, began in January 2005. The total cost of the LOP(R)s programme up to the end of the last financial year, rounded to the nearest £1 million is as follows. This includes planning work generic to the class as a whole.
	
		Vanguard class spend profile -- £ million
		
			  Vanguard Victorious 
		
		
			 2000–01 7 — 
			 2001–02 45 — 
			 2002–03 114 — 
			 2003–04 84 8 
			 2004–05 39 55 
			 Total 289 63

Wind Turbines (Yelland Farm)

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons his Department has withdrawn its objections to the proposal to erect three 81 metre wind turbines at Yelland Farm, West Devon.

Don Touhig: holding answer 2 November 2005
	The original objection to the Yelland Farm development lodged by this Department was based on the advice of the local commander at Okehampton Training Area. However, further advice was obtained from the RAF Low Flying Policy Office, Joint Helicopter Command and HQ Army Training Estate. After these authorities had been consulted, it was confirmed that the proposed wind turbines at Yelland Farm would not prevent or restrict the RAF's or Army's ability to operate over the nearby Dartmoor and Okehampton Training Areas. On that basis, MOD withdrew its objection.

Wind Turbines (Yelland Farm)

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what evidence his Department relied upon in stating in a letter from Defence Estates of 26 May, to the West Devon borough council, that the erection of three 81 metre wind turbines at Yelland Farm, West Devon, would (a) limit realistic training in the Dartmoor training area and (b) constitute a hazard to military aircraft transiting around the Air Danger Area exclusion zone over North Dartmoor.

Don Touhig: holding answer 2 November 2005
	The Ministry of Defence's initial objection to the Yelland Farm planning application was based on the information provided by the local commander at Okehampton Training Area, and is related to the possible implications for the use of helicopters that routinely fly in and out of Okehampton Camp and operate over Dartmoor as part of operational training.
	There were also initial concerns about the potential hazard to helicopters and fast jets that transit around the moor. The MOD's objection has now been withdrawn, following more detailed consideration.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Academies

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what freedoms academies have been given that do not apply to other schools.

Jacqui Smith: Academies are state funded independent schools. As such they operate outside the control of the local authority. Academies operate in accordance with their Funding Agreement and Memorandum and Articles of Association. These give them freedoms that do not apply to maintained schools, in particular:
	The Academy Trust (set up by the sponsor) appoints the majority of the governing body.
	Academies are their own employing body, and so are free to employ their own staff and set their pay and conditions (subject to the requirements of the Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment Regulations 1981 for staff transferring from a predecessor school).
	An Academy does not have to follow the national curriculum but is free to develop its own, so long as it is broad and balanced. However, the core subjects of the national curriculum (English, Maths and Science) must be taught to pupils in years 7–11.
	Academies control their own assets.
	Academies have flexibility in admissions arrangements, but must comply with the School Admissions Code of Practice and provide education for pupils drawn wholly or mainly from the area in which the Academy is situated.

Academies

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many of the expressions of interest that her Department received in establishing academies were from the private sector.

Jacqui Smith: Out of 68 live academy projects, 31 Expressions of Interest involved sponsorship from a private company or individual. The remainder were sponsored by charitable trusts or faith groups, some of the members of which have had a background business. A further 13 Expressions of Interest involving sponsorship from a private company or individual are currently under consideration.

Adult Education

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research (a) her Department and (b) the Learning and Skills Council has conducted on the (i) ability and (ii) willingness of (A) individuals and (B) employers to pay increased fees for adult education courses.

Bill Rammell: My Department recently commissioned a public poll asking people about their attitudes towards fees in the learning and skills sector. We intend to publish a report of the findings on the Department's website on the 11 November. Other research includes a study of learners (Study of Learners in Further Education (2003)) to ascertain the financial circumstances of learners in FE; and a Prior Qualifications of Adult Learners survey which includes questions about learner attitudes to contributing to the costs of their learning. We have also commissioned two surveys (Fees in Colleges—A Review Of The Use Of Discretionary Fee Remission In Further Education (2003); and FE Colleges Fee Charging Policy and Practice (1999)) about fee policies and practices from the college's perspective. DfES published research findings are available on the Department's website at dfes.gov.uk/research/.
	The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is currently researching the impact of new fee policies in the further education sector. LSC published research findings are available on their website—lsc.gov.uk.
	There has been no specific research into employer attitudes to payment of fees for adult education courses.

A-level Students

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the retention rate was among year two A-level students in Bolton in each year since 2002.

Jacqui Smith: The Department does not hold information on retention rates during A level courses in both schools and the FE sector.

A-level Students

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the retention rate has been among year two A-level students in Hemel Hempstead constituency in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: The Department does not hold information on retention rates during A level courses in both schools and the FE sector.

Apprenticeships

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what changes there have been in funding for training organisations providing apprenticeships in the last five years.

Phil Hope: Apprenticeships in England are funded through the work-based learning for young people budget of the Learning and Skills Council. This budget covers apprenticeships, advanced apprenticeships, NVQ learning and entry to employment. The following shows estimated spending by the LSC since it was established in 2001.
	
		£ million
		
			  Academic year  Total WBL budget Estimated apprenticeship spend 
		
		
			 2001/02 673 467 
			 2002/03 828 539 
			 2003/04 791 560 
			 2004/05 1,037 810

Basic Skills

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the percentage of the population who lack basic skills, broken down by (a) 18 to 24, (b) 25 to 29, (c) 30 to 34, (d) 35 to 39, (e) 40 to 44, (f) 45 to 49, (g) 50 to 54, (h) 55 to 59, (i) 60 to 64, (j) 65 to 69 and (k) 70 to 75 age groups.

Phil Hope: The Skills for Life Survey: A national needs and impact survey of literacy, numeracy and ICT skills" (DfES, October 2003) provides the latest estimates of literacy and numeracy levels across England. The survey assessed the literacy, numeracy and ICT skills of around 8,000 adults aged between 16 and 65 in England.
	The survey findings are shown in the following tables. The age groups in the published data are slightly wider than those requested, at 10 years rather than five, to ensure sufficient sample in each age group to provide a robust estimate. The data also include adults up to age 65 only.
	The assessment levels correspond to the literacy and numeracy National Standards: these were introduced in 2002 to provide a framework for all adult screening tests, diagnostic tools, programmes of study and qualifications. Learners are assessed for levels of literacy and numeracy from Entry Level 1 to Level 2. Level 2 is broadly equivalent to a higher grade GCSE (A*-C).
	Overall around 16 per cent. of adults had literacy skills below Level 1 and 47 per cent. had numeracy skills below this level.
	
		Table 1: Age and literacy level -- Percentage
		
			  Total (n=7874) 16 to 24 (n=1057) 25 to 34 (n=1774) 35 to 44 (n=2044) 45 to 54 (n=1509) 55 to 65 (n=1488) 
		
		
			 Entry Level 1 or below 3 1 2 2 3 3 
			 Entry Level 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 
			 Entry Level 3 11 9 9 10 12 15 
			 Level 1 40 43 40 39 36 40 
			 Level 2 or above 44 43 47 46 45 38 
		
	
	
		Table 2: Age and numeracy level -- Percentage
		
			  Total (n=8040) 16 to 24 (n=1092) 25 to 34 (n=1764) 35 to 44 (n=2092) 45 to 54 (n=1551) 55 to 65 (n=1538) 
		
		
			 Entry Level 1 or below 5 5 4 5 6 8 
			 Entry Level 2 16 15 14 15 16 19 
			 Entry Level 3 25 29 24 24 24 26 
			 Level 1 28 27 28 29 27 27 
			 Level 2 or above 25 24 29 27 26 20 
		
	
	A copy of the survey report is in the House of Commons Library and on the DfES website: www.dfes.gov.uk

Bridgewater Primary, Northamptonshire

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Bridgewater primary school to be built in Northamptonshire will have kitchen facilities.

Jacqui Smith: We understand from the authority that the school does not have kitchen facilities.
	Departmental school design guidelines and funding allocations allow for the provision of full kitchen facilities if required by the school or authority. Central Government capital support for investment in schools has increased from under £700 million in 1996–97 to £5.5 billion this year and will rise further to £6.3 billion by 2007–08. The primary capital programme of £150 million in 2008–09 and £500 million in 2009–10 will support a programme to renew at least half of all primary schools over the next 15 years.

Building Schools for the Future

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what the timetable is for the latest round of bids under Building Schools for the Future; when the round was announced; and what the closing date is;
	(2)  when the next round of bids under Building Schools for the Future is planned to take place.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 3 November 2005
	Building Schools for the Future is our long-term strategic programme to transform facilities for secondary pupils over 15 years, subject to future public spending decisions. We have grouped investment in annual waves. Wave 1 projects were announced in 2003 and aim to sign contracts in the financial year 2005–06. Wave 2 and 3 projects were announced in 2004 and aim to sign contracts in 2006–07 and 2007–08 respectively. As the projects are large and involve many schools, building work can take several years after contract signature.
	We plan to announce the next waves of investment after the coming comprehensive spending review, probably late in 2007. In the meantime, we have told each local authority when their schools may begin in the 15-year programme. On current plans, the Stroud and Cotswold area of Gloucestershire is not due to begin in the programme until waves 13 to 15, i.e. 2017 at the earliest.
	This indicative planning information allows local authorities to look ahead strategically, discuss options with schools and communities and agree long-term education visions for schools and their buildings. By doing this, local areas will be well placed to make good use of other investment, as it becomes available, and to use the local flexibilities of the Single Capital Pot and prudential system. In this way, authorities should find that they will be able to achieve much on their critical paths to starting Building Schools for the Future.
	We have just announced that, given Gloucestershire's position in Building Schools for the Future, it will receive around £20 million investment between 2006 to 2008 to rebuild one of its worst condition secondary buildings as a school of the future. My officials will be writing to the authority about this shortly.

Building Schools for the Future

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding she plans to make available under Building Schools for the Future for the refurbishment and re-building of school kitchens.

Jacqui Smith: Investment provided through Building Schools for the Future will allow school kitchens to be rebuilt or refurbished, where this is needed. Total investment amounts to £6.5 billion (including £3.75 billion PFI credits) over the three financial years 2005–06 to 2007–08. We do not break down our funding to projects for particular parts of schools, such as kitchens, but we are making clear that kitchens are essential.

Challenging Pupils

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures (a) secondary schools and (b) local education authorities will be required to have in place to deal with hard to place pupils to ensure that no single school takes a disproportionate number of pupils with challenging behaviour.

Jacqui Smith: We are proposing to change the school admissions code of practice to recommend that all schools and local authorities agree protocols for the admission of hard to place pupils. These protocols should ensure that no school is asked to admit a disproportionate number of pupils with challenging behaviour. All schools and local authorities will have to have regard to this element of the code as to other elements. We want schools and local authorities to enter into these agreements voluntarily and we will be monitoring progress on this. Where agreement on protocols cannot be reached we will consider legislating to impose them.

Child Abuse

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many cases of child (a) physical and (b) sexual abuse there have been in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: Information reported by councils with social services responsibilities on the number of registrations to child protection registers by category of abuse during the years ending 31 March 2002 to 2004 is shown in the following table. Information prior to this period was collected differently and may be found in Table 1.6 of Children and Young People on Child Protection Registers, Year Ending 31 March 2001—England". This is available from the Department's website at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000517/CPR2001.PDF
	
		Registrations(36) to child protection registers during the years ending 31 March 2002 to 2004, by category of abuse -- EnglandNumber
		
			  2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Neglect 10,800 11,700 12,600 
			 Physical abuse 5,300 5,700 5,700 
			 Sexual abuse 2,800 3,000 2,800 
			 Emotional abuse 4,700 5,400 5,600 
			 Multiple 4,100 4,400 4,300 
		
	
	(36) Where a child was registered more than once in the year, each registration has been counted. Registrations include unborn children.

Citizenship Education

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers have been trained as specialists in citizenship education in each year since it was introduced as a statutory part of the national curriculum.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 3 November 2005
	In the three academic years between 2001/02 and 2003/04, a total of 534 trainees gained qualified teacher status (QTS) from initial teacher training (ITT) courses, broken down as follows. The first year of recruitment was 2001/02.
	
		Number of trainees gaining QTS from ITT courses for citizenship
		
			  Trainees gaining QTS 
		
		
			 2001/02 127 
			 2002/03 187 
			 2003/04 220 
		
	
	Source:
	TDA Performance Profiles.

City Academy Students

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in each city academy are children with special educational needs (a) with statements and (b) without statements.

Maria Eagle: The answer to your question is detailed in the table below. We only have data for the 17 academies which opened in or before September 2004. All data are from the academic year 2004/05. The data on pupils with SEN in the 10 academies which opened in September 2005 will not be available until after the annual school census in January 2006.
	
		
			 Name of academy Number of pupils with SEN but without statements Number of pupils with statements of SEN 
		
		
			 Mossbourne Community Academy 42 9 
			 Lambeth Academy 15 12 
			 City of London (Southwark) Academy 46 22 
			 The Academy at Peckham 446 39 
			 London Academy 406 53 
			 The Business Academy Bexley 585 76 
			 Capital City Academy 225 20 
			 The West London Academy 324 150 
			 Greig City Academy 181 5 
			 Stockley Academy 174 19 
			 The Walsall City Academy 30 17 
			 Manchester Academy 97 7 
			 The City Academy, Bristol 266 41 
			 Unity City Academy 359 32 
			 The King's Academy 244 95 
			 Djanogly City Academy Nottingham 416 (37)— 
			 Northampton Academy 328 33 
		
	
	(37) Numbers under 5 have been deleted to remove the possibility of identifying individual pupils.

City Academy Students

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in schools from which each new academy was created were children with special educational needs (a) with statements and (b) without statements, in the last year for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: The answer to the question is detailed in the following table. The pupil data for each school come from the academic year before the school closed.
	
		
			 Name of school Academic year Number of students with SEN without statements Number of students with SEN statements 
		
		
			 Kedholme School 01/02 200 18 
			 Langbarugh School 01/02 120 13 
			 Thamesmead Community College 01/02 250 24 
			 St.. David and St.. Katherine C of E  High School 01/02 212 11 
			 Compton Sports College 02/03 121 18 
			 TP Rilely School 02/03 106 13 
			 Brackenhoe Comprehensive 02/03 137 26 
			 Coulby Newham 02/03 180 76 
			 St. George Community College 02/03 426 61 
			 Warwick Park School 02/03 162 39 
			 Dulcie High School 02/03 52 10 
			 Djanogly CTC (including Forest  School) 02/03 256 0 
			 Willesden High School 02/03 181 10 
			 Evelyns Community School 03/04 126 19 
			 Lings Upper School 03/04 202 24 
			 Edgware School 03/04 322 45 
			 Thorne Grammer School 04/05 116 37 
			 St. Pauls RC VA School 04/05 53 29 
			 Canon Williamson C of E School 04/05 145 8 
			 Ramsgate School 04/05 26 14 
			 Macmilan CTC 04/05 85 6 
			 John Penrose School 04/05 92 18 
			 Malory School 04/05 268 23 
			 Haberdashers' Askes Hatcham College 04/05 146 20 
			 Dixons CTC 04/05 234 17 
			 Our Lady's Catholic High School 04/05 134 10

Classroom Assistants

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many classroom assistants have been employed in (a) the Kingston and Surbiton constituency and (b) London in each year since 2001.

Jacqui Smith: The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants in service in Kingston and Surbiton constituency and London Government Office Region in each January since 2001.
	
		Full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants(38) in maintained sector schools(39) and pupil referral units
		
			  Kingston and Surbiton London 
		
		
			 2001 140 14,380 
			 2002 180 15,390 
			 2003 200 17,590 
			 2004 240 19,880 
			 2005 280 22,230 
		
	
	(38) Includes teaching assistants, special needs support staff and ethnic minority support staff.
	(39) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools.
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	Annual School Census.

Classroom Assistants

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) classroom assistants and (b) full-time equivalent classroom assistant posts there were in schools in the Kettering constituency in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 2 November 2005
	The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants in maintained sector schools 2 , including pupil referral units, in Kettering constituency in January of each year.
	The number of full-time equivalent teaching assistant posts in Kettering is not collected centrally.
	
		Full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants(40) in maintained sector schools(41), including pupil referral units, in Kettering constituency
		
			  Teaching assistant FTE 
		
		
			 1997 150 
			 1998 160 
			 1999 180 
			 2000 200 
			 2001 (42)260 
			 2002 220 
			 2003 240 
			 2004 230 
			 2005 250 
		
	
	(40) Includes teaching assistants, special needs support staff and ethnic minority support staff.
	(41) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools.
	(42) Data for 2001 may be affected by misclassification of support staff roles following major changes to information systems.
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	Annual School Census.

Departmental Spending

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding was allocated by her Department to Milton Keynes for (a) capital projects and (b) revenue funding in each of the last five years.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested, in cash terms and in £ million, is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Capital Allocations Revenue 
		
		
			 2001–02 9.9 114.9 
			 2002–03 20.3 124.4 
			 2003–04 29.1 138.7 
			 2004–05 39.1 152.4 
			 2005–06 30.8 164.0 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Capital allocations to local authorities may differ, in a particular year, from local authority expenditure. This is due to timing differences and to decisions made locally. Figures for 2005–06 are provisional.
	2. Revenue allocation figures, from 2003–04, include the pensions transfer to Education Formula Spending and the Learning and Skills Council; the figures prior to 2003–04 have not been adjusted. Total funding includes all revenue grants in the DfES budget relevant to pupils ages three to 19, and excludes Education Maintenance Allowances and grants not allocated at local authority level. Figures for the years 2003–04 to 2005–06 are provisional as some grants have not yet been finalised/audited.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what checks the assessment and payment body carry out in respect of claimants of education maintenance allowance on (a) declared income and (b) attendance on the relevant courses.

Maria Eagle: The assessment and payment body (APB) accepts a range of income source documents as proof of income, such as the Tax Credit Award Notice/P60. Documents must be originals and these are scrutinised for signs of amendment or tampering as part of the assessment process. The APB also sample completed applications using random selection criteria. These applicants are written to and asked to provide further evidence to confirm the original details.
	We obtained powers in the Education Act 2005 to share income and benefit data with HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions. Operational policy responsibility for education maintenance allowances (EMA) lies with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) which works with these two Departments to help operate EMAs.
	Schools and colleges must record attendance, ensure their systems capture EMA student attendance accurately and initiate stopping payments for unauthorised absences. The LSC conducts regular audits on schools/colleges and checks on attendance form part of those audits.

Education White Paper

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) spelling mistakes and (b) grammatical errors in the Education White Paper were identified by her Department after publication.

Jacqui Smith: Since publication, we have focussed on disseminating the policy ideas in the White Paper and planning their implementation rather than proof-reading again. As with any document of this size, it is inevitable that some minor errors will remain and a small number have been noted that are not significant enough to require clarification.

Education White Paper

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) powers, (b) funding and (c) responsibilities that are currently within the remit of local education authorities she expects (i) the Learning and Skills Council and (ii) local Learning and Skills Councils to hold following the implementation of the proposals in the Education White Paper.

Jacqui Smith: There are no proposals to transfer powers, funding or other responsibilities from local authorities to the Learning and Skills Council made in the 'Higher Standards Better Schools for All' White Paper.

Education White Paper

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) powers, (b) funding and (c) responsibilities the proposed (i) School Improvement Partners and (ii) Office of the Schools Commissioner will hold that are currently within the remit of local education authorities.

Jacqui Smith: The School Improvement Partner of a maintained school works under contract to the local authority that maintains the school. She or he has no powers independent of the local authority and controls no funding. Although there is a degree of central specification of the responsibilities of the School Improvement Partner, no responsibilities are taken from the local authority's remit by the introduction of the School Improvement Partner. Similarly, the Schools Commissioner will hold no powers, funding or responsibilities that are currently within the remit of local education authorities. The Schools Commissioner's role in relation to local authorities will be to support and challenge them in carrying out their new duties to promote choice, diversity and fair access; and to advise the Secretary of State on the exercise of her powers of intervention if they are failing in those duties.

Education White Paper

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the likely effects of the reforms proposed in the Education White Paper on (a) local government finance and (b) the budgets of local authorities; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: There will be additional costs to local authorities for some elements of the proposals set out in the Education White Paper and we will make resources available to fund them, so as not to create unfunded new burdens for local authorities, or put any pressure on council tax. We will consider with key stakeholders, including local government, the costs and the best methodology and route for distributing funds as policies are developed further.

Education White Paper

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the likely effects of the reforms proposed in the Education White Paper on local councils appointing school governors; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: Local authorities will continue to appoint some governors to all categories of maintained schools. As now, the governing bodies of all maintained schools—including the new trust schools—will be responsible for the strategic leadership of their schools. As now, local authorities will not appoint the majority of governors to any category of maintained school.

Failing Schools

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are taken to deal with failing schools.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 3 November 2005
	When a school is judged, by Ofsted, to be failing the local authority is under a duty to prepare, within 10 working days, an action plan to improve the school. There are then termly visits from Ofsted to monitor the implementation of the action plan and the school's progress. Since 1998 the number of failing schools has more than halved and the average time to turn round such a school has reduced from 24 to 21 months. The Schools White Paper published last month includes proposals to ensure that school failure is remedied even more quickly. In particular, we propose to extend the range of intervention powers available to authorities and to require them to consider the full range of their powers immediately on receipt of an adverse Ofsted inspection report on a school.

Faith Schools (Admissions)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to her oral answer of 27 October 2005 to the hon. Member for Barnsley, East and Mexborough (Jeff Ennis), Official Report, column 442, on the Education White Paper, whether her policy that looked-after children will have top priority in admissions applies equally to faith schools.

Jacqui Smith: We are committed to laying regulations before Parliament to require admission authorities to give top priority to looked-after children in their published admission arrangements. We intend that schools designated as having a religious character will, as a minimum requirement, give first priority to looked-after children of their faith, but we expect many of these schools to provide in their admission arrangements for all looked-after children to have priority unless their trust deeds prevent them from doing so.

Further Education

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will initiate a publicity campaign to persuade adults and employers that there is a need to pay higher fees for courses provided by further education colleges; and if she will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The recent Learning and Skills Council publication Priorities for Success: Funding for Learning and Skills" made the commitment that
	Government and the LSC with partners in the skills alliance will make sure that (adult learning funding) priorities are communicated nationally and locally to explain and reinforce work with learners and employers at institutional level"
	(paragraph 70, page 20).
	Government, Learning and Skills Council and other partners' publicity campaigns over the coming months will meet this commitment by demonstrating the many different rewards to individual learners, employers and the community that can be achieved through investment of time, effort and money in learning.

Further Education

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to encourage secondary school leavers to go into further education.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries.

Gas and Electricity Supply Contracts

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools have interruptible contracts for gas and electricity supply; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: We have contacted some local authority energy managers and doubt if there are any schools on an interruptible gas tariff due to the relatively low level of consumption in schools. This tariff is usually associated with the business or commercial sectors where there are dual fuels in place.
	You cannot interrupt electricity supplies to properties therefore there are no such tariffs for electricity.

GCSE Results

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to her oral answer of 27 October 2005, Official Report, column 440, to the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid-Kent (Hugh Robertson), on GCSE results, what the evidential basis is for her statement that improvements in reading, writing and arithmetic followed after 50 years of no progress at all in raising primary school standards.

Jacqui Smith: The statement made in the answer to the oral question referred to is based on the conclusions from the research Standards in Literacy and Numeracy" conducted by Greg Brooks, Derek Foxman and Tom Gorman, National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), published by the National Commission on Education in December 1992. Updates to this research, Standards in Literacy and Numeracy 1948–1994" and Trends in the Standards of Literacy in the United Kingdom: 1948—1996" were published in 1995 and 1996 respectively.
	One of the main findings of this research was that in the period between 1948 and 1996 average levels of performance of primary school children had remained much the same.

GCSE Results

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what average number of A and A* grades at GCSE was achieved in all schools in each year from 1997.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is given in the following table.
	
		Average number of A* and A grades at GCSE achieved by15-year-old pupils(43)
		
			  A* grades A grades Number of 15-year-old pupils(43) Average number of A*/A grades per pupil 
		
		
			 1997 168,334 484,323 586,766 1.1 
			 1998 187,473 487,413 575,210 1.2 
			 1999 188,597 476,736 580,972 1.1 
			 2000 216,808 528,390 580,393 1.3 
			 2001 239,058 551,729 603,318 1.3 
			 2002 249,963 584,255 606,554 1.4 
			 2003 251,486 586,097 622,122 1.3 
			 2004 282,226 608,509 643,560 1.4 
			 2005(44) 292,910 625,165 637,194 1.4 
		
	
	(43) Pupils aged 15 at the beginning of the academic year (i.e. 31 August).
	(44) Figures for 2005 are provisional. All other years are final.

Gifted and Talented Youth

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (a) how many and (b) what proportion of secondary school pupils are members of the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth (i) in total, (ii) broken down by local education authority and (iii) in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton constituency.

Jacqui Smith: The White Paper Higher Standards, Better Schools For All" makes clear our commitment to offer membership of the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth to the full cohort of eligible 11–19 year olds.
	The National Academy has to date recruited 70,982 members from secondary schools. This is 1.78 per cent. of secondary school pupils in England. Figures for local education authorities are in the following table. The Academy has 67 secondary members in the Bognor Regis and Littlehampton constituency.
	
		Table 1: Number of NAGTY members by region and local education authority
		
			   Total secondary school population Number of NAGTY members NAGTY members as a percentage of total population 
		
		
			  East of England 457,930 9,809 2.142 
			 820 Bedfordshire 44,125.5 586 1.328 
			 873 Cambridgeshire 41,293 1,446 3.502 
			 881 Essex 103,306.5 1,179 1.141 
			 919 Hertfordshire 103,336 3,874 3.749 
			 821 Luton 13,049.5 376 2.881 
			 926 Norfolk 53,358.5 633 1.186 
			 874 Peterborough 13,528 427 3.156 
			 882 Southend-on-Sea 14,043 998 7.107 
			 935 Suffolk 63,022 268 0.425 
			 883 Thurrock 8,868.5 22 0.248 
			  
			  East Midlands 337,620 7,754 2.297 
			 831 Derby 18,092 324 1.791 
			 830 Derbyshire 56,055.5 1,851 3.302 
			 856 Leicester 21,455.5 782 3.645 
			 855 Leicestershire 52,602 978 1.859 
			 925 Lincolnshire 53,084 1,683 3.170 
			 928 Northamptonshire 54,530.5 583 1.069 
			 892 Nottingham 18,941.5 548 2.893 
			 891 Nottinghamshire 58,389 999 1.711 
			 857 Rutland 4,473.5 6 0.134 
			  
			  London 568,050 7,453 1.312 
			  Inner London 197,210 2,158 1.094 
			 202 Camden 17,254 236 1.368 
			 201 City of London 1,920 12 0.625 
			 204 Hackney 13,616 69 0.507 
			 205 Hammersmith and Fulham 12,435 89 0.716 
			 309 Haringey 14,500.5 68 0.469 
			 206 Islington 8,859.5 0 0.000 
			 207 Kensington and Chelsea 14,320 107 0.747 
			 208 Lambeth 10,604 130 1.226 
			 209 Lewisham 15,153.5 39 0.257 
			 316 Newham 18,662.5 235 1.259 
			 210 Southwark 18,273.5 337 1.844 
			 211 Tower Hamlets 15,390 17 0.110 
			 212 Wandsworth 20,080 664 3.307 
			 213 Westminster 16,144.5 155 0.960 
			  
			  Outer London 370,825 5,295 1.428 
			 301 Barking and Dagenham 12,406 173 1.394 
			 302 Barnet 27,727 154 0.555 
			 303 Bexley 20,632.5 328 1.590 
			 304 Brent 19,296 356 1.845 
			 305 Bromley 27,376.5 601 2.195 
			 306 Croydon 28,402.5 292 1.028 
			 307 Ealing 21,742.5 486 2.235 
			 308 Enfield 23,807.5 134 0.563 
			 203 Greenwich 18,317.5 98 0.535 
			 310 Harrow 14,082.5 167 1.186 
			 311 Havering 17,564 497 2.830 
			 312 Hillingdon 22,010 287 1.304 
			 313 Hounslow 17,889.5 433 2.420 
			 314 Kingston upon Thames 13,297 121 0.910 
			 315 Merton 12,212 1 0.008 
			 317 Redbridge 24,550 660 2.688 
			 318 Richmond upon Thames 15,626 131 0.838 
			 319 Sutton 17,768 258 1.452 
			 320 Waltham Forest 16,123.5 118 0.732 
			  
			  North East 197,920 4,145 2.094 
			 841 Darlington 7,133.5 251 3.519 
			 840 Durham 35,267 435 1.233 
			 390 Gateshead 14,266.5 159 1.114 
			 805 Hartlepool 6,593 333 5.051 
			 806 Middlesbrough 9,499.5 184 1.937 
			 391 Newcastle upon Tyne 22,239 733 3.296 
			 392 North Tyneside 15,092.5 560 3.710 
			 929 Northumberland 31,272 257 0.822 
			 807 Redcar and Cleveland 10,244 201 1.962 
			 393 South Tyneside 10,362.5 232 2.239 
			 808 Stockton-on-Tees 14,849.5 361 2.431 
			 394 Sunderland 21,095.5 439 2.081 
			  
			  North West 532,750 9,222 1.731 
			 889 Blackburn with Darwen 13,072 102 0.780 
			 890 Blackpool 10,118 121 1.196 
			 350 Bolton 23,296.5 176 0.755 
			 351 Bury 14,447 65 0.450 
			 875 Cheshire 56,494.5 860 1.522 
			 909 Cumbria 39,062 431 1.103 
			 876 Halton 8,333.5 130 1.560 
			 340 Knowsley 10112 45 0.445 
			 888 Lancashire 84031 .5 924 1.100 
			 341 Liverpool 36,222 874 2.413 
			 352 Manchester 31,481 207 0.658 
			 353 Oldham 18,556 620 3.341 
			 354 Rochdale 14,871 227 1.526 
			 355 Salford 15,436 261 1.691 
			 343 Sefton 24,264.5 483 1.991 
			 342 St. Helens 13,046.5 351 2.690 
			 356 Stockport 21,878 304 1.390 
			 357 Tameside 16,267 142 0.873 
			 358 Trafford 18,492 381 2.060 
			 877 Warrington 14273 311 2.179 
			 359 Wigan 21,636 1,076 4.973 
			 344 Wirral 27,358.5 1,131 4.134 
			  
			  South East 668,965 12,697 1.898 
			 867 Bracknell Forest 8,925.5 48 0.538 
			 846 Brighton and Hove 17,377 457 2.630 
			 825 Buckinghamshire 43,604.5 522 1.197 
			 845 East Sussex 36,856.5 205 0.556 
			 850 Hampshire 89,871.5 1,172 1.304 
			 921 Isle of Wight 13,201 184 1.394 
			 886 Kent 120,702 3,055 2.531 
			 887 Medway 22522 169 0.750 
			 826 Milton Keynes 14,665.5 28 0.191 
			 931 Oxfordshire 53,378.5 1,370 2.567 
			 851 Portsmouth 13,278 123 0.926 
			 870 Reading 8,994 1,367 15.199 
			 871 Slough 9,364.5 77 0.822 
			 852 Southampton 13,858 137 0.989 
			 936 Surrey 98,378 1,718 1.746 
			 869 West Berkshire 15,590.5 499 3.201 
			 938 West Sussex 58,028 286 0.493 
			 868 Windsor and Maidenhead 16,441.5 421 2.561 
			 872 Wokingham 13,924 859 6.169 
			  South West 392,885 6,579 1.675 
			 800 Bath and North East Somerset 17,058.5 371 2.175 
			 837 Bournemouth 11515 33 0.287 
			 801 Bristol, City of 25,863.5 519 2.007 
			 908 Cornwall 36,175.5 824 2.278 
			 878 Devon 51,594 1,017 1.971 
			 835 Dorset 36,513.5 364 0.997 
			 916 Gloucestershire 49,692 457 0.920 
			 420 Isles of Scilly 0 0 0.000 
			 802 North Somerset 14,060.5 406 2.888 
			 879 Plymouth 20,472.5 331 1.617 
			 836 Poole 9,760.5 25 0.256 
			 933 Somerset 42,949 1,315 3.062 
			 803 South Gloucestershire 18,733.5 271 1.447 
			 866 Swindon 11,739 307 2.615 
			 880 Torbay 10,100.5 86 0.851 
			 865 Wiltshire 36,644 253 0.690 
			  
			  West Midlands 429,710 5,882 1.369 
			 330 Birmingham 79,943.5 371 0.464 
			 331 Coventry 24,658.5 774 3.139 
			 332 Dudley 21,495 438 2.038 
			 884 Herefordshire 12,564.5 35 0.279 
			 333 Sandwell 20,178.5 243 1.204 
			 893 Shropshire 23,272.5 447 1.921 
			 334 Solihull 19,356.5 245 1.266 
			 860 Staffordshire 66,887.5 836 1.250 
			 861 Stoke-on-Trent 15,448.5 381 2.466 
			 894 Telford and Wrekin 12,788 144 1.126 
			 335 Walsall 23,048 279 1.211 
			 937 Warwickshire 41,163 593 1.441 
			 336 Wolverhampton 19,035.5 301 1.581 
			 885 Worcestershire 49,869.5 795 1.594 
			  
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 386,995 7,441 1.923 
			 370 Barnsley 13,935 536 3.846 
			 380 Bradford 39,836.5 358 0.899 
			 381 Calderdale 17,122 34 0.199 
			 371 Doncaster 22832 410 1.796 
			 811 East Riding of Yorkshire 25,282 633 2.504 
			 810 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 17,651 333 1.887 
			 382 Kirklees 28,787.5 636 2.209 
			 383 Leeds 53,775 702 1.305 
			 812 North East Lincolnshire 11,824.5 107 0.905 
			 813 North Lincolnshire 11,102 291 2.621 
			 815 North Yorkshire 49,031.5 1510 3.080 
			 372 Rotherham 21,037 245 1.165 
			 373 Sheffield 34,920 859 2.460 
			 384 Wakefield 26,978.5 171 0.634 
			 816 York 12,878.5 616 4.783

Grammar Schools (Northern Ireland)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to her oral answer to the hon. Member for South Antrim (Dr. McCrea) of 27 October 2005, Official Report, column 441, on the Education White Paper, what the basis was for her statement that the decision to abolish grammar schools in Northern Ireland was taken by the devolved assembly.

Jacqui Smith: A review of secondary education in Northern Ireland was in progress when the Assembly was suspended in October 2002. The Costello Group subsequently made its recommendations, and the decision to end academic selection was made by the Northern Ireland Office Minister, Jane Kennedy, rather than the devolved Assembly as originally stated. She announced this decision on 26 January, 2004, and the last transfer tests will be held in autumn 2008.

Homework Clubs

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding has been allocated to homework clubs in schools in (a) England, (b) Kent and (c) Sittingbourne and Sheppey in 2005–06.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not available. Homework clubs may form part of a school's or local authority's study support (out of school hours learning) programme, for which funding is available through their base budgets, and the school development grant (SDG). Schools and local authorities may use their SDG for any purposes linked to school improvement, and it is for them to determine the amount to be allocated to study support.
	Study support forms an integral part of the Government's extended services agenda, which will require schools to offer a varied menu of activities from 8 am to 6 pm year round, including during school holidays. Additional funding of £680 million is being made available up to 2008 to support the start up of extended services in schools.

Inner City Academies

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) football and (b) cricket matches were played by inner city academies in the academic year 2004/05.

Jacqui Smith: The Department for Education and Skills does not hold this information.

Language Teaching

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to encourage more students in secondary schools to take language GCSEs.

Jacqui Smith: In March 2005 the Secretary of State for Education and Skills announced a £115 million Boost for Modern Foreign Languages", providing support for language teaching and learning for this and the next two years.
	Part of that funding will support new approaches for teaching and learning for 11 to 18-year-olds, including alternative qualifications to traditional GCSEs and vocational options at key stage 4 which will provide more flexibility for pupils in their studies and meet the needs of a wider range of pupils. We have expanded the list of qualifications that count towards performance table scores to include more language qualifications. We are also funding a range of projects and materials to promote languages and to develop innovative curricular models which will be show-cased to provide schools with delivery ideas and support. For example, we funded CILT, the National Centre for Languages to produce 'Languages Work', a suite of materials designed to promote the value of language learning, support take up of languages beyond key stage 3, and how language skills can enhance future employability.
	Last September the new languages recognition scheme, the languages ladder, became available nationally. The scheme can be used by learners of all ages and is available in eight languages. The scheme differs from existing approaches to assessment in that there are separate qualifications in each language for reading, writing, listening and speaking. The scheme can provide motivation and recognition of achievement at key stage 3, thus encouraging take up at key stage 4. Finally, the scheme can support language learning at key stage 4 within a wide range of learning pathways, including vocational and work-related contexts.

Learning and Skills Council

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what change to the administration costs of the Learning and Skills Council she expects through the planned streamlining operation.

Bill Rammell: The LSC's core administration costs have fallen steadily from 4.6 per cent. of total funding in 2001–02, to 2.5 per cent. of its planned total budget in 2005–06. The LSC's administration budget for the next two years was set out in the Secretary of State's Grant Letter issued on 31 October 2005. This Grant Letter provides the LSC with just over £252 million (2.4 per cent. of planned total budget) for 2006–07 and just under £240 million (2.2 per cent. of planned total budget) for 2007–08 to cover its administration costs including the cost of capital and depreciation. This reflects efficiency savings already agreed. The overall administration budget will be reassessed when the results of the consultation on the LSC's Agenda for Change", particularly its restructuring, are finalised. At this stage further savings could be released to the sector.

Maintained Schools

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many independent schools have expressed an interest in joining the maintained sector in the last five years.

Jacqui Smith: In the last five years, 52 independent schools have registered with the Department their interest in joining the maintained sector; seven independent schools have become maintained schools and another three are approved to become maintained schools in 2006/07.

Offender Learning Schemes

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment her Department has made of the pilot schemes for offender learning.

Phil Hope: The National Foundation for Educational Research, the largest independent educational research institution in Europe, has been appointed to assess the impact of the new offender learning and skills delivery arrangements in the three development regions (North East, North West and South West England). The research activity has commenced and results will be used to inform roll-out across the rest of England in August 2006, with a full research report published in September 2006.

Offender Learning Schemes

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if she will take steps to ensure that the forthcoming Green Paper on Reducing Re-offending through Skills and Employment addresses (a) education and training while in custody and (b) support for former prisoners after their release; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  when the Green Paper on Reducing Re- offending through Skills and Employment will be published.

Phil Hope: The Department for Education and Skills, Home Office and Department for Work and Pensions are working on proposals for a joint reform programme to build a service that is more effective in improving offenders' skills and qualifications and in getting some offenders into sustainable employment. We hope to publish proposals in the near future. The proposals can be expected to cover issues relating to education and training in custody and in the community.

Parent Councils

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of schools have parent councils.

Jacqui Smith: We do not collect this information centrally.

Parenting Contracts

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many parenting contracts have been issued in (a) Morecambe and Lunesdale and (b) England since their inception.

Jacqui Smith: My Department started to collect data regarding parenting contracts (in cases of non-attendance and exclusions from school) from September 2004. Between September 2004 and 31 July 2005 local authorities in England have reported that 5,717 parenting contracts in cases of non-attendance have been agreed with parents. During the same period 418 parenting contracts in cases of exclusion from school were agreed with parents. This is the latest data we hold—autumn term data will be published in March 2006. We do not collect data below local authority level. Lancashire LA have reported that they did not issue any parenting contracts up to and including 31 July 2005.

Prison Education

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much her Department plans to spend on prison education in (a) 2005–06, (b) 2006–07 and (c) 2007–08.

Phil Hope: Expenditure on learning and skills for offenders in custody is planned to be £110.9 million in financial year 2005–06. Decisions have yet to be taken on spend in 2006–07 and 2007–08.

School Building Repairs

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the requirement for school building repairs in Leeds, North-West; and what estimate she has made of the cost in each school.

Jacqui Smith: The following table shows requirements for school building repairs in Leeds, North-West, based on data supplied to the Department by the local education authority in 2003. Costs have been updated to current costs. In addition to backlog repair work, the figures cover work needed over a five year period from the dates of the assessments, including cyclical and scheduled maintenance.
	Central Government capital support for investment in schools has increased from under £700 million in 1996–97 to £5.5 billion this year and will rise further to £6.3 billion by 2007–08. Progress is being made year-by-year in improving the quality of the school building stock.
	
		Building repairs for schools in Leeds, North-West -- £
		
			 Investment 
		
		
			 Wigton Moor Primary School 489,364 
			 Chapel Allerton Primary School 138,837 
			 Gledhow Primary School 246,522 
			 Miles Hill Primary School 0 
			 Potternewton Primary School 194,107 
			 Talbot Primary School 308,892 
			 Bracken Edge Primary School 875,350 
			 Kerr Mackie Primary School 24,941 
			 Hillcrest Primary School 572,465 
			 Alwoodley Primary School 718,103 
			 Carr Manor Primary School 17,535 
			 Highfield Primary School 254,559 
			 Moor Allerton Hall Primary School 77,979 
			 Moortown Primary School 80,188 
			 Shadwell Primary School 6,913 
			 Fir Tree Primary School 345,687 
			 Harewood Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary  School 59,087 
			 Roundhay St. John's Church of England Primary School 32,709 
			 St. Urban's Catholic Primary School 3,460 
			 St. Paul's Catholic Primary School 37,388 
			 Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Primary School 52,476 
			 Holy Rosary and St. Anne's Catholic Primary School 182,939 
			 Archbishop Cranmer Church of England Primary School 281,510 
			 St. Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School 902,020 
			 Brodetsky Primary School 167,473 
			 Allerton High School 1,694,672 
			 Allerton Grange School 1,870,847 
			 Carr Manor High School 305,275 
			 Roundhay School Technology College 752,295 
			 Braim Wood Boys' High School 262,593 
			 John Jamieson School 278,275 
			 Stonegate School 230,139 
			 Penny Field School 116,292 
			 Elmete Wood—BESD SILC 649,777

School Meals

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what was the average amount spent on school meals per pupil per day in the last period for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: The Department for Education and Skills does not collect information on the average amount spent on school meals per pupil per day. However, the recent report from the school meals review panel, concluded that the average cost of ingredients in primary schools was 48.5p; and in secondary schools was 59.8p. We are currently undertaking a national audit of school food provision which asks local authorities for details of average expenditure on ingredients.

School Non-attenders

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the proportion of children between the ages of five and 16 years who do not attend school.

Jacqui Smith: The Government make no estimates of the proportion of children between the ages of five and 16 years who do not attend school. There is currently no reliable statistical source from which to estimate of the number of children who do not attend school. In due course, the information sharing index, provided for in Section 12 of the Children Act 2004, would enable more accurate estimates to be made.
	In the meantime, the Government are concentrating on improving practice in identifying children missing, or at risk of going missing, from education and placing them in suitable provision. In the White Paper Higher Standards, Better Schools for All—More Choice for Parents and Pupils" we announced our intention to introduce a new statutory duty on local authorities to identify children missing education.

School Non-attenders

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what are the most recent truancy levels for (a) secondary and (b) primary schools in Morecambe and Lunesdale.

Jacqui Smith: These data are provisional: they are currently in the process of being checked by schools and, therefore, may change as a result of this process.
	
		Percentage of half days missed due to unauthorised(45) absence in maintained schools
		
			  Morecambe and Lunesdale  England 
		
		
			 Primary 0.44 0.43 
			 Secondary 1.34 1.25 
		
	
	(45) Unauthorised absence includes other forms of absence such as lateness, holidays during term time not authorised by the school, absence where reason is not yet established and truancy.

School Non-attenders

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the truancy figures were from colleges of further education (a) in England and (b) broken down by constituency, in the last year for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not collected centrally. Data on pupil absences are collected only in respect of pupils of compulsory school age: i.e. those aged five to 16-years-old.

School Sport

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what average number of hours of physical education was undertaken per week in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools, in England in 2004–05.

Jacqui Smith: The 2004–05 PE and School Sport Survey of schools in School Sport Partnerships found that the average time spent each week on physical education by pupils in partnership schools was 101 minutes for pupils in primary schools and 113 minutes for pupils in secondary schools. The figures for the previous year were 97 minutes for pupils in primary schools and 110 minutes for pupils in secondary schools.
	The survey results were published in September and copies have been placed in the House Libraries.

School Sport

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to ensure that children in schools undertake more physical exercise.

Jacqui Smith: The Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are jointly implementing a national school sport strategy. The strategy is delivering an ambitious public service agreement target to increase the percentage of 5–16 year olds who spend a minimum of two hours a week on high quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum to 75 per cent. by 2006 and then 85 per cent. by 2008. The long-term ambition, by 2010, is to offer all children at least four hours of sport every week. In the five years to 2008 over £1.5 billion is being invested (including £686 million lottery funding) to implement the strategy. The 2004–05 school sport survey results found that overall, 69 per cent. of pupils in the 11,498 schools involved, were participating in at least two hours of high quality PE and school sport a week. The results were published on 2 September 2005 and copies have been placed in both Houses of Parliament Libraries.

School Sport

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the schools designated as sports hubs in Hemel Hempstead constituency.

Jacqui Smith: There is one School Sport Partnership in Hemel Hempstead. The hub school for the partnership is The Cavendish School, which is a Specialist Sports College. The partnership will expand next year to include all schools in Hemel Hempstead.

School Trusts

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list categories of companies which would not be permitted to set up a school trust because of the nature of their business.

Jacqui Smith: All trusts will by law be charities and will be subject to regulation by the Charities Commission. We will require trusts to have specific charitable objects and all members of trusts will be under a statutory duty to conduct the trust in accordance with its objects.
	It will be for the governing bodies of individual schools to decide whether to form a partnership with a trust and to publish proposals setting out how that partnership will enhance the school's ethos and character.
	The local authority can refer the governing body's decision to the schools adjudicator for determination, if there are serious concerns about the impact of the acquisition of the trust on school standards. We intend to issue guidance to governing bodies and the schools adjudicator in due course about the factors to take into account when considering proposals.

School Trusts

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the types of person who would not be permitted to set up a school trust.

Jacqui Smith: We will produce illustrative regulations to accompany the passage of the forthcoming Bill. The list of persons who would not be permitted to set up a school trust or to be members of such a trust will be similar to the list of individuals who cannot be members of a school company in the School Companies Regulations 2002.

Truancy

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the most recent truancy levels are for (a) secondary and (b) primary schools in the Hemel Hempstead constituency.

Jacqui Smith: These data are provisional: they are currently in the process of being checked by schools and, therefore, may change as a result of this process.
	
		Percentage of half days missed due to unauthorised(46) absence in maintained schools
		
			  Hemel Hempstead England 
		
		
			 Primary 0.29 0.43 
			 Secondary 0.99 1.25 
		
	
	(46) Unauthorised absence includes other forms of absence such as lateness, holidays during term time not authorised by the school, absence where reason is not yet established and truancy.

Science

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many qualified teachers of (a) the sciences, (b) English, (c) modern foreign languages, (d) physical education, (e) drama, (f) media studies, (g) mathematics and (h) information and communication technology there have been in secondary schools in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many qualified teachers of (a) biology, including human biology, (b) chemistry, (c) physics and (d) dual science there have been in the state sector in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not available in the format requested. Information on subject teaching is collected through periodic secondary school staffing surveys. The following table shows the numbers of full-time teachers who provided some tuition in the subjects 1 shown. Information is provided for maintained secondary schools in England, from the two most recent sample surveys.
	1 Teachers are counted once against each subject taught.
	
		
			  November 1996 November 2002 
		
		
			 Mathematics 25,200 28,200 
			 English 28,400 29,400 
			 Combined/General Science 27,300 28,300 
			 Biology 5,100 5,600 
			 Chemistry 4,600 5,200 
			 Physics 4,400 4,700 
			 Other Sciences(47) 1,600 1,600 
			 French 16,200 16,000 
			 German 8,100 6,900 
			 Spanish 2,700 3,600 
			 Other Modern Languages 1,300 1,400 
			 Information and  Communication Technology 10,700 18,900 
			 Drama(48) 8,900 8,100 
			 Physical Education 20,000 21,400 
		
	
	(47) Includes geology, environmental science, rural science, agricultural science and science in society.
	(48) Includes media studies, communication skills and expressive arts

Science

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of existing science teachers will have reached retirement age by (a) 2006, (b) 2008 and (c) 2010.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not available in the format requested.

Skills for Life Courses

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of people taking Skills for Life courses have previously taken leisure courses.

Phil Hope: The information requested is not readily available and can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Learners participating in Skills for Life courses may have previously taken leisure courses but evidence suggests that for most Skills for Life learners, their Skills for Life courses will have been their first entry back into education since school.

Skills for Life Courses

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Skills for Life courses at Entry Level 1 cover elements of the Skills for Life course at Entry Level 2.

Phil Hope: All Skills for Life courses funded by the Learning and Skills Council for England are referenced to the National Standards for Literacy and Numeracy, which cover Entry Levels 1, 2 and 3 and Levels 1 and 2. This ensures that there is consistency in a learner's studies across the country, whatever their environment or situation. The standards are constructed to facilitate progression from one level to the next in order to promote high quality learning which naturally leads the learner through the levels and where each level sets the context for higher level work in the next. Entry Level 2 Skills for Life courses build on the work done at Entry Level 1 but broaden and raise the expected levels of achievement. For instance, in literacy the contexts are extended from forms, lists, messages, notes and records" at Entry Level 1 to also include e-mails and simple narratives" at Entry Level 2.

Skills for Life Courses

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many adults on the Skills for Life programme have achieved (a) two Skills for Life qualifications, (b) three Skills for Life qualifications and (c) four or more Skills for Life qualifications since the programme began.

Phil Hope: From April 2001 to July 2005, a confirmed 1,130,000 adults have achieved a qualification in literacy, language or numeracy and have counted towards the Skills for Life Public Service Agreement (PSA) target. However, the Department currently only has detailed and complete information on Skills for Life achievements from April 2001 until July 2004. During that period approximately 865,000 learners achieved at least one Skills for Life qualification in literacy, language or numeracy and therefore counted once towards the Skills for Life PSA target. The total number of Skills for Life achievements of these learners was approximately 1,280,000 achievements, which is an average of 1.48 per learner. Therefore, a significant number of learners will have gained two or more achievements. The specific information requested is not readily available and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Special Schools

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the White Paper, High Standards, Better Schools for All" what the issues are that arise for special schools from Trust status; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The White Paper Higher Standards, Better Schools for All" states that to spread innovation and diversity across the whole school system, we will promote the establishment of self-governing Trust schools. We acknowledge in the White Paper that Trust status for special schools raises a number of complex issues and we will continue to work with schools to decide the best way forward.

Sports Colleges

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many sports colleges there are in England.

Jacqui Smith: Sports specialism was first introduced in 1997. There are 334 specialist sports colleges. In addition, 10 chose sports as part of a combined specialism and seven chose sports as a second specialism at Redesignation.

Sunbeds

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will undertake a publicity campaign to dissuade children from using sunbeds.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	SunSmart, the national skin cancer prevention and sun protection campaign, run by Cancer Research UK on behalf of the United Kingdom health departments includes in their printed resources and on the SunSmart website information and advice discouraging the use of sunbeds, especially by young people below the age of 16 years. SunSmart has this year campaigned on raising the awareness of the dangers of skin cancer among children and young people, including the risks associated with sunbeds. The Health and Safety Executive guidelines also recommend that sunbeds should not be used by young people under 16 years and that the guidelines should be available to the public at sunbed establishments.

Teacher Numbers

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) teachers and (b) full-time equivalent teaching posts there were in schools in the Kettering constituency in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of teachers in service in maintained sector schools, including pupil referral units, in Kettering constituency in each January since 1997.
	The number of full-time equivalent teaching posts in Kettering is not collected centrally.
	
		Full-time equivalent number of teachers in maintained sector schools(49), including pupil referral units, in Kettering constituency
		
			  Teachers FTE 
		
		
			 1997 940 
			 1998 940 
			 1999 960 
			 2000 980 
			 2001 1,030 
			 2002 1,030 
			 2003 1,030 
			 2004 1,020 
			 2005 1,050 
		
	
	(49) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools.
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	Annual School Census

Teachers' Pensions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what account is taken of differences between the value of pension provision of teachers in the public sector and that of teachers in the private sector when setting teachers' pay.

Jacqui Smith: No account is taken of the value of pension provision for teachers in the private sector when setting teachers' pay. Schools in the private sector are free to join the teachers' pensions scheme and over 50 per cent. do so.

Trust Schools

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the proposed Trust schools will be able to apply for the flexibility to borrow against their assets.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 2 November 2005
	The proposed Trust schools will be able to borrow against their assets on the same basis as existing maintained schools. That is, permission to borrow must be approved by the Secretary of State. Borrowing by schools scores as public expenditure and, in coming to a decision, the Secretary of State will have regard as to whether the extra cost can be met by the Department. In addition, the Secretary of State will determine whether or not the extra borrowing constitutes value for money.

Vocational Qualifications

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools offered (a) Part One and (b) Full General National Vocational Qualification at (i) Foundation and (ii) Intermediate level in each year since 1995.

Phil Hope: Information on the number of schools offering GNVQs is unavailable. Figures for the number of schools where at least one pupil has achieved this qualification is provided in the following table:
	
		Number of schools where at least one 15-year-old pupil(50) has achieved each qualification type
		
			  Part 1 intermediate Part 1 foundation Full intermediate Full foundation 
		
		
			 2005(51) 42 5 1,202 317 
			 2004 146 25 1,087 332 
			 2003 1,479 970 1,010 358 
			 2002 1,186 768 531 241 
			 2001 783 426 181 154 
			 2000 485 285 186 154 
			 1999 403 269 134 128 
			 1998 212 148 102 107 
			 1997 103 85 97 88 
		
	
	(50) Age at the beginning of the academic year (i.e. 31 of August).
	(51) Figures for 2005 are provisional. All other figures are final.
	Note:
	GNVQs were first introduced into the Achievement and Attainment tables (formerly Performance Tables) in 1996/97, therefore we cannot provide this information for earlier years.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefit Fraud

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to tackle benefit fraud; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave on 26 October 2005, Official Report, columns 45354W to the hon. Member for Ilford North, (Mr. Scott).

Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to visit Coventry.

John Hutton: I have no current plans to visit Coventry but would be happy to discuss the possibility of making a visit in the future.

Disability Living Allowance

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average waiting time has been between the rejection of an application for disability living allowance and an appeal hearing in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Anne McGuire: This is a matter for Christina Townsend, chief executive of the Appeals Service. She will reply to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Christina Townsend to Dr. Vincent Cable, dated 7 November 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your question regarding what the average waiting time has been between the rejection of an application for Disability Living Allowance and an appeal hearing in each of the last five years for which records are available.
	The information you have requested is shown in the table below.
	
		Great Britain, DLA appeals 200005 by average duration
		
			  Average duration (Weeks) 
		
		
			 200001 33.08 
			 200102 31.81 
			 200203 30.38 
			 200304 28.88 
			 200405 27.68 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All figures are subject to change as more up to date data becomes available.
	2. Lodged denotes when an appeal is submitted to the first tier agency. Lodged data only enters the GAPS database when the Appeal reaches the Appeals Service.
	3. Duration is derived by calculating the time difference from when an appeal is lodged until when it is cleared. It is represented in weeks.
	4. Years are represented from April to March in each instance.
	Source:
	100 per cent. download of the Generic Appeals Processing System.
	I hope this reply is helpful.

Disability Living Allowance

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many appeals there have been as a result of rejected applications for disability living allowance in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Anne McGuire: This is a matter for Christina Townsend, chief executive of the Appeals Service. She will reply to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Christina Townsend to Dr. Vincent Cable, dated 7 November 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your question regarding how many appeals there have been as a result of rejected applications for Disability Living Allowance in each of the last five years for which records are available.
	The information you have asked for is not available in the format requested as, due to the way data is gathered, it is not possible to provide figures solely concerning appeals brought as a result of rejected applications. Information is gathered by the total number of appeals received and the table below shows this over the last 5 years.
	
		Great Britain, disability living allowance, appeals and outcomes 200105(52)
		
			  Lodged Received Cleared at hearing Cleared in favour of appellant Cleared against appellant Cleared upheld. S of S decision confirmed Cleared before hearing Adjourned Postponed 
		
		
			 2001 86,420 86,890 86,285 45,165 100 40,200 825 20,660 14,445 
			 2002 82,535 82,290 72,815 39,495 75 32,510 735 15,785 11,320 
			 2003 87,545 83,560 69,840 36,850 90 32,060 840 16,395 8,220 
			 2004 90,030 87,010 75,080 38,170 115 35,800 995 18,680 7,155 
			 2005 40,720 41,380 35,935 18,190 30 17,190 525 9,955 3,725 
		
	
	(52) Figures are for calendar years (January to December) except 2005 which covers January 2005 to June 2005.
	Notes:
	1. Data is taken from the Management Information System (MIS) computer system.
	2. Figures have rounded to the nearest 5.
	3. All figures are subject to change as more up to date data becomes available.
	4. Figures for the latest months will rise significantly as information feeds through to the Appeals Service.
	5. Figures show all DLA appeals for the dates shown and not just DLA application.
	6. Appeals received figures may be higher than lodged figures as a result of lodgement being in a different month/year.
	Source:
	DWP, Information Directorate

Disability Living Allowance

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who have appealed against the withdrawal of a higher rate of disability living allowance have lost all benefit at the appeal in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Anne McGuire: This is a matter for Christina Townsend, chief executive of the Appeals Service. She will reply to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Christina Townsend to Dr. Vincent Cable, dated 7 November 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your question regarding how many people who have appealed against the withdrawal of a higher rate of Disability Living Allowance have lost all benefit at the appeal in each of the last five years for which records are available.
	The information you have asked for is not available in the format requested as, due to the way data is gathered, it is not possible to provide figures solely concerning appeals brought as a result of the withdrawal of a higher rate of Disability Living Allowance. Information is gathered by the total number of appeals received and this was set out in my response to you for PQ/05/17829.
	I hope this reply is helpful.

Disability Living Allowance

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many appeals brought as a result of rejected applications for disability living allowance have been upheld in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Anne McGuire: This is a matter for Christina Townsend, chief executive of the Appeals Service. She will reply to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Christina Townsend to Dr. Vincent Cable, dated 7 November 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your question regarding how many appeals brought as a result of rejected applications for Disability Living Allowance have been upheld in each of the last five years for which records are available.
	The information you have asked for is not available in the format requested as, due to the way data is gathered, it is not possible to provide figures solely concerning appeals brought as a result of rejected applications. Information is gathered by the total number of appeals received and the table below shows this over the last 5 years.
	
		Great Britain, disability living allowance, number of appeals and appeals where the decision has been upheld in each year from 200105
		
			  Cleared at hearing Cleared decision upheld 
		
		
			 2001 86,285 40,200 
			 2002 72,815 32,510 
			 2003 69,840 32,060 
			 2004 75,080 35,800 
			 2005 35,935 17,190 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Data is taken from the Management Information System (MIS) computer system.
	2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.
	3. Figures are for calendar years (January to December) except 2005 which covers January 2005 to June 2005.
	4. All figures are subject to change as more up to date data becomes available.
	5. Figures for the latest months will rise significantly as information feeds through to the Appeals Service.
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate
	I hope this information is helpful.

Disability Living Allowance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the (a) average and (b) total cost is to the disability and carers service of defending decisions to refuse claims for disability living allowance against appeals;
	(2)  what the (a) average and (b) total cost is to the disability and carers service of reconsidering claims for disability living allowance that were initially rejected;
	(3)  what the (a) average and (b) total cost is to the disability and carers service of processing new claims for disability living allowance.

Anne McGuire: The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the chief executive of the disability and carers service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Terry Moran to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 7 November 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me, as Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service (DCS), to reply to your questions concerning the (a) average and (b) total cost to the DCS of defending decisions to refuse claims for disability living allowance against appeals, of reconsidering claims for disability living allowance that were initially rejected, and of processing new claims for disability living allowance.
	The information is not available in the format requested for appeals and reconsiderations.
	I am only able to provide the average cost and total cost for all appeal applications and reconsideration requests, not just those that were refused or rejected.
	
		
		
			  Average cost Total cost(53) 
		
		
			 Appeal 100.77 3,320,992 
			 Reconsideration 44.06 1,616,371 
			 Claim 67.63 9,570,156 
			 Special Rules claim 52.62 376,424 
		
	
	(53) Year to July 2005.
	Notes:
	1. Figures for actual year to date at July 2005.
	2. The costs include medical evidence.
	3. Includes direct staff costs only for those processing the events.
	4. The special rules cover people who suffer from a progressive disease that is so severe that they are not expected to live longer than six months.
	I hope you find this information useful and I am sorry I cannot be more helpful.

Disability Living Allowance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 7 June 2005, Official Report, column 452W, on disability living allowance, what progress has been made in developing a new claim form for disability living allowance; and which groups are being consulted as part of this development.

Anne McGuire: The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the chief executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Terry Moran to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 7 November 2005
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7th June Official Report column 452W on disability living allowance, what progress has been made in developing a new claim form for disability living allowance; and which groups are being consulted as part of this development. The Secretary of State has asked me, as Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service (DCS), to reply to your question.
	The DCS has been developing and testing different disability living allowance (DLA) claim forms since September 2003, in order to address concerns from disabled people and their representative organisations about the difficulties they were experiencing in claiming disability benefits. This has culminated in a claim form for DLA adult working age customers, currently being tested in the areas serviced by the Disability Benefits Centres at Manchester and Bootle. The effectiveness of the claim for both customers and DCS will be evaluated fully before any decisions are made about the way forward.
	The establishment of the DCS as an Agency on 1st November 2004 marked an increased focus on understanding the needs of its customers through early proactive and open consultation with customer representative organisations. Consequently, the claim form currently being tested was subject to considerable consultation and input from a wide range of customer groups through the DCS Advisory Forum (formerly the Modern Service Working Group). The Forum provides the DCS' main consultation mechanism through its membership of 14 national Voluntary and Community Sector officers, who represent customers with a wide range of disabilities. Some of the Forum members also sought input from additional organisations, whom they considered could offer valuable input.
	The list of organisations is attached at annexe 1.
	I hope you find this information helpful.
	Annexe 1
	Organisation
	Macmillan Cancer Relief
	Mencap
	Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB)
	Mind
	Disability Alliance
	Local Government Association (LGA)
	Carers UK
	Citizens Advice
	Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID)
	Princess Royal Trust for Carers
	Re-Think
	National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS)
	Age Concern
	Contact A Family
	Additional information sought by members of the Forum from:
	Motor Neurone Disease Association
	Coutinho Welfare Benefits Team

Disability Living Allowance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average length of time taken to process new claims for disability living allowance has been in each year since 2001, broken down by region.

Anne McGuire: The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the chief executive of the disability and carers service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Terry Moran to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 7 November 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me, as Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, to reply to your question concerning the average length of time taken to process new claims for disability living allowance (DLA) in each year since 2001, broken down by region.
	The information requested is only available by Disability and Carers Service Disability Benefit Centre areas as follows:
	Scotland and the North East: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds and Newcastle.
	Central England: Manchester and Midlands.
	Wales and Western England: Cardiff, Bristol and Bootle.
	The South: Wembley and Sutton.
	
		Average length of time in days to clear DLA normal rules new claims by disability benefits centre
		
			  April 01 March 02 April 02 March 03 April 03 March 04 April 04 March 05 April 05 Sepember 05 
		
		
			 Scotland and North East   
			 Edinburgh 39.3 40.2 37.9 38.0 39.3 
			 Glasgow 37.6 37.4 36.2 32.7 35.1 
			 Leeds 33.1 37.5 37.5 32.3 31.2 
			 Newcastle 39.8 39.5 32.1 34.7 37.7 
			   
			 Central England   
			 Manchester 34.1 35.9 35.8 34.2 29.3 
			 Midlands 49.7 44.5 35.0 32.4 31.3 
			   
			 Wales and Western England   
			 Cardiff 35.3 34.1 39.2 35.4 33.7 
			 Bristol 38.7 38.7 39.2 34.5 33.5 
			 Bootle 39.6 36.3 37.5 34.7 32.7 
			   
			 The South  
			 Wembley 45.2 48.2 43.0 36.0 33.4 
			 Sutton 45.5 40.8 40.3 36.3 34.8 
		
	
	
		Average length of time in days to clear DLA special rules new claims by disability benefits centre
		
			  April 01 March 02 April 02 March 03 April 03 March 04 April 04 March 05 April 05 Sepember 05 
		
		
			 Scotland and North East   
			 Edinburgh 5.8 6.4 5.3 5.5 6.0 
			 Glasgow 7.8 7.1 5.8 5.2 4.9 
			 Leeds 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.4 5.3 
			 Newcastle 7.6 7.4 6.6 6.5 6.7 
			   
			 Central England   
			 Manchester 5.9 5.5 6.0 5.0 4.4 
			 Midlands 10.6 6.9 4.5 4.9 3.8 
			   
			 Wales and Western England   
			 Cardiff 6.1 5.8 6.7 6.4 5.2 
			 Bristol 5.8 6.5 6.4 5.9 5.7 
			 Bootle 5.7 5.6 5.6 5.2 5.5 
			 The South  
			 Wembley 9.4 8.4 7.2 5.7 5.8 
			 Sutton 7.5 7.2 6.4 5.7 5.9 
		
	
	Note:
	The special rules cover people who suffer from a progressive disease that is so severe that they are not expected to live longer than six months.
	I hope this is helpful.

DNA Bioscience

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what meetings have taken place between the (a) owners and (b) officials of DNA Bioscience since 5 May and (i) Ministers in his Department, (ii) officials in his Department and (iii) officials in his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: No such meetings have taken place.

Incapacity Benefit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the claimant off-flow rates from (a) incapacity benefit and (b) severe disability allowance were in each of the last 15 years, broken down by reason for leaving the benefit.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the tables.
	
		Incapacity benefit off-flows by reason for termination for quarters shown -- Thousand
		
			  All Closed certificate Death of claimant Award of state pension Failed OOT Failed PCA Other reason 
		
		
			 May 1995 198.1   (54)0.1   198.0 
			 August 1995 239.7  239.7 
			 November 1995 266.4  266.4 
			 February 1996 259.8   (54)0.1   259.7 
			 May 1996 272.1   (54)0.1   272.0 
			 August 1996 244.6  244.6 
			 November 1996 225.6 104.8 6.1  0.5 36.7 77.4 
			 February 1997 230.4 89.3 6.7 5.6 (54)0.2 35.1 93.5 
			 May 1997 247.9 83.1 5.6 15.2 (54)0.4 38.1 105.6 
			 August 1997 233.8 87.4 5.8 17.8 0.6 34.8 87.5 
			 November 1997 238.1 86.6 6.4 17.4 0.7 36.1 90.8 
			 February 1998 223.5 78.7 6.1 18.7 0.9 36J 82.4 
			 May 1998 232.2 83.2 6.5 21.2 0.9 34.1 86.3 
			 August 1998 210.0 69.5 5.1 20.7 1.2 35.0 78.6 
			 November 1998 235.0 65.3 5.9 19.2 1.1  143.5 
			 February 1999 189.0 66.5 6.3 19.4 1.4 31.7 63.8 
			 May1999 208.6 60.5 5.7 23.3 1.3 30.0 87.9 
			 August 1999 210.6 57.6 6.1 23.5 0.8 27.9 94.7 
			 November 1999 207.7 61.0 5.4 22.0 1.0 28.1 90.2 
			 February 2000 205.6 57.2 6.7 22.9 1.2 27.4 90.3 
			 May 2000 187.1 58.8 5.4 17.0 1.2 24.4 80.3 
			 August 2000 169.2 55.6 4.7 9.2 1.6 22.8 75.3 
			 November 2000 174.7 56.0 5.5 8.4 1.4 20.1 83.3 
			 February 2001 177.8 52.2 6.6 8.9 1.3 18.5 90.5 
			 May 2001 181.5 55.4 5.9 11.3 1.3 19.9 87.7 
			 August 2001 170.5 49.6 5.5 10.2 1.3 21.4 82.5 
			 November 2001 182.8 53.5 5.7 10.0 1.3 26.1 86.1 
			 February 2002 171.1 47.7 5.9 11.2 1.1 23.7 81.7 
			 May 2002 176.2 47.7 4.8 12.1 1.0 25.6 85.2 
			 August 2002 172.3 45.1 5.5 12.5 0.8 22.7 85.7 
			 November 2002 181.2 47.2 6.1 11.1 1.2 26.8 88.9 
			 February 2003 166.3 41.0 6.0 13.5 0.8 22.9 82.2 
			 May 2003 161.5 42.7 5.5 15.5 0.9 24.3 72.6 
			 August 2003 178.8 41.5 5.5 9.2 1.1 24.5 97.0 
			 November 2003 182.5 43.3 5.8 6.0 1.0 24.6 101.8 
			 February 2004 168.5 37.1 6.7 12.5 0.7 23.3 88.2 
			 May 2004 171.4 38.5 5.5 16.3 0.8 26.4 83.8 
			 August 2004 173.6 35.3 5.8 16.8 0.7 24.3 90.6 
			 November 2004 172.7 37.6 5.3 14.2 0.8 27.0 87.8 
			 February 2005 174.9 34.9 6.4 16.1 (54)0.4 25.8 91.3 
			 May 2005 130.4 37.6 5.8 15.1 0.7 30.7 40.5 
		
	
	
		Severe disability allowance off-flows by reason for termination for quarters shown -- Thousand
		
			  All Closed certificate Death of claimant Award of state pension Failed OOT Failed PCA Other reason 
		
		
			 May 1995 3.3  3.3 
			 August 1995 5.4  5.4 
			 November 1995 5.7  5.7 
			 February 1996 6.4  6.4 
			 May 1996 5.2  5.2 
			 August 1996 6.7  6.7 
			 November 1996 9.2 0.8 1.4   (54)0.2 6.7 
			 February 1997 13.5 0.6 1.7   (54)0.4 10.9 
			 May 1997 9.0 (54)0.5 1.3   (54)0.3 7.0 
			 August 1997 8.0 0.8 1.7   (54)0.3 5.1 
			 November 1997 7.1 0.7 1.9   (54)0.2 4.3 
			 February 1998 6.8 0.5 2.0   (54)0.2 4.0 
			 May 1998 6.2 (54)0.3 1.3   (54)0.3 4.3 
			 August 1998 5.8 (54)0.5 1.4   (54)0.3 3.6 
			 November 1998 7.4 (54)0.4 1.55.5 
			 February 1999 4.7 (54)0.2 1.8   (54)0.2 2.5 
			 May 1999 5.7 (54)0.2 1.3   (54)0.2 4.0 
			 August 1999 6.6 (54)0.4 1.3   (54)0.2 4.7 
			 November 1999 6.5 0.5 1.7   (54)0.2 4.2 
			 February 2000 7.6 (54)0.2 2.1   (54)0.2 5.1 
			 May 2000 6.1 (54)0.3 1.4   (54)0.2 4.3 
			 August 2000 5.6 (54)0.4 1.6   (54)0.1 3.5 
			 November 2000 5.6 (54)0.3 1.5   (54)0.1 3.6 
			 February 2001 5.5 (54)0.3 1.6   (54)0.2 3.5 
			 May 2001 5.8 (54)0.3 1.4   (54)0.3 3.8 
			 August 2001 4.6 (54)0.4 1.2   (54)0.2 2.8 
			 November 2001 5.4 (54)0.2 1.5   (54)0.2 3.5 
			 February 2002 4.9 (54)0.2 1.6   (54)0.2 2.9 
			 May 2002 4.6 (54)0.1 1.4   (54)0.1 2.9 
			 August 2002 4.1 (54)0.1 1.0   (54)0.1 2.9 
			 November 2002 4.5 (54)0.2 1.5   (54)0.1 2.8 
			 February 2003 4.0 (54)0.1 1.32.5 
			 May 2003 4.4 (54)0.1 1.0   (54)0.1 3.2 
			 August 2003 4.3 (54)0.1 1.32.9 
			 November 2003 4.4 (54)0.2 1.32.9 
			 February 2004 4.3 (54)0.1 1.52.6 
			 May 2004 3.3 (54)0.1 1.1   (54)0.1 2.0 
			 August 2004 3.8 (54)0.1 1.3   (54)0.1 2.4 
			 November 2004 3.5 (54)0.1 1.3   (54)0.1 1.9 
			 February 2005 4.2 (54)0.1 1.3   (54)0.1 2.8 
			 May 2005 1.9 (54)0.3 1.4(54)0.2 
		
	
	'' means nil or negligible.
	(54) Figures are subject to a high degree of sampling error and should only be used as a guide.
	Notes:
	1. These figures have been updated to include late notified terminations, including terminations for retirement pension.
	2. All figures back to 1995 have been revised, and may be subject to further change;
	(a) Figures prior to 2004 are subject to minor changes
	(b) Figures for 2004 include fewer late notifications than previous quarters and will be subject to greater change in future
	(c) Figures for the latest quarter do not include any late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters. For illustration purposes, total terminations for May 2004 increased by 33 per cent. in the year following their initial release.
	3. PCA means Personal Capability Assessment (formerly the 'All Work Test').
	4. OOT means Own Occupation Test.
	5. Due to operational procedures a small number of Personal Capability Assessment terminations appear in 'Other reasons'.
	6. Because of changes to the recording system, terminations due to the all work test are unreliable and are included in 'Other reasons'.
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate, 5 per cent. samples.

Job Clubs

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of (a) the impact of the reduction in the number of job clubs and (b) the effect of the use of larger contractors to manage services.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie to Mr. David Drew, dated 7 November 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning his assessment of the impact of the reduction in the number of job clubs and the effect of the use of larger contractors to manage services. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobsearch help has not been provided through Jobclubs for a number of years. The service that Jobclubs used to offer is now delivered through Programme Centres, and these centres continue to play an important role in our portfolio of provision. However, in planning to make best use of reduced funding this year for our contracted provision, it was important that we gave priority to programmes helping those at greatest disadvantage including, for example, the New Deals. This does mean that, in some areas, Programme Centre contracts have not been extended or referral numbers have been cut this year.
	The policy of using fewer, larger, contractors to manage services is being introduced in the current Jobseeker's Allowance New Deal contracting round for contracts due to begin in April 2006. It is too early to judge the effect. However, this policy has been introduced to rationalise a contract portfolio of some several thousand contracts. It should provide better value for money in contract management terms, as well as offering contracts of a size that are a more commercially viable proposition for providers. It aims also to alleviate the burden for smaller providers by offering them the scope to work with other local partners rather than having to bid for separate small contracts.
	I hope this is helpful.

Job Creation

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the current review of job creation schemes.

Margaret Hodge: A review of our welfare to work programmes was commissioned in 2003 to ensure that our programmes were able to help the greatest proportion of economically inactive people into work, as well as those claiming jobseeker's allowance.
	Our strategy paper 'Building on New Deal (BoND): Local solutions meeting individual needs' was published on 17 June 2004. The paper sets out our strategy for building on the success of our employment programmes.

Jobcentre Plus

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the end of job centre contracts in the last funding round, with particular reference to further education colleges.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Leslie Strathie to Mr. David Drew, dated 7 November 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the end of jobcentre contracts in the last funding round, with particular reference to further education colleges. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Most of our contracts were due to expire on 31 March 2005. We initially extended some contracts for six months, to allow decisions to be made on our future contract needs. We further extended some of those contracts from October 2005 to April 2006 to allow sufficient time for the tendering process and for new contracts to start next April. In deciding how to make best use of reduced funding this year, achievement of agreed performance targets was a key criterion for extending contracts.
	Of those contracts either terminated early (for reasons of poor performance or quality) or not renewed, current information suggests that approximately 7 per cent. were with further education colleges.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what large scale redundancies have been notified to the Job Centre Plus in North Staffordshire by the Department of Trade and Industry.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie to Joan Walley, dated 7 November 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about what large scale redundancies have been notified to Jobcentre Plus in North Staffordshire by the Department of Trade and Industry. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Since March 2005, there have been 17 notifications of redundancies across North Staffordshire, involving 1,053 employees. Of these notifications, nine were designated by Jobcentre Plus for large scale redundancy status. These are as follows:
	
		
			 Company Number of employees involved 
		
		
			 Strathway Wellies 11 
			 Shires Ltd 220 
			 Dyson Ceramic Systems 30 
			 Faiveley Transport Birkenhead Ltd 24 
			 Leoni Wiring Systems UK Ltd 95 
			 Bloor Potteries Ltd 36 
			 W Moorcroft PLC 47 
			 Sews Components Europe BV 57 
			 Indesit Company UK Ltd 80 
		
	
	I hope this information is helpful.

Lone Parents

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people in Edinburgh, North and Leith have received the lone parent work search premium;
	(2)  how many people in Edinburgh, North and Leith have received the in-work credit.

Margaret Hodge: Information is not available for the constituency of Edinburgh, North and Leith, however, in the Edinburgh Jobcentre Plus district, 780 people have received the lone parent in-work credit and 190 people have received the lone parent work search premium.

New Deal

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on changes in the budget for new deal programmes for 200506.

Margaret Hodge: Our aim is to ensure that all new deal participants have access to the full range of programme options. By actively managing our programme budgets, we will continue to ensure that support through the new deal will be available to those customers who need the most help and support, regardless of where they live. We have adjusted some regional allocations this year to ensure that we deliver our overall priorities.

New Deal

Malcolm Rifkind: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have (a) registered on the new deal for disabled people and (b) obtained a sustained (i) part-time and (ii) full-time job through the new deal for disabled people.

Margaret Hodge: Between July 2001 and May 2005, a total of 144,360 people had registered with a new deal for disabled people (NDDP) job broker. The number of people gaining a job up to May 2005, following registration with an NDDP job broker, was 59,560. Of these, 29,170 were sustained full-time jobs and 8,620 were sustained part-time jobs.
	Notes
	1. For the purposes of new deal for disabled people, a job is regarded as sustained when a person, placed into work through an NDDP job broker, remains in work for 13 out of 39 weeks. Prior to October 2003, an NDDP job was regarded as sustained when a person, placed into work through an NDDP job broker, remained in work for 26 out of 39 weeks. 2. NDDP jobs data relate only to the number of individuals gaining a job through an NDDP Job Broker. A measure of sustainability is not available for non-job broker jobs. 3. Although data are now available on people into jobs through NDDP up to the end of August 2005, data provided is up to the end of May 2005, to allow three months for the job to be recorded as sustained. 4. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10
	Source
	DWP Information Directorate

Pensions

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average monthly contribution to stakeholder pensions is.

Stephen Timms: The average individual monthly contribution to stakeholder pensions was 119 for the year ending 5 April 2004the latest year for which data are available.

Private Finance Projects

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 22 June 2005, Official Report, column 1076W, on private finance projects, what proportion of assets and liabilities for each of the listed private finance initiatives and public private partnerships is recorded on the Government balance sheet.

Margaret Hodge: The Department has one on-balance sheet contract which is held with ICB Ltd for serviced accommodation and support functions in respect of Health and Safety Laboratories at Buxton. This private finance initiative contract is accounted for as a finance lease, with 100 per cent. of the contract value disclosed as a liability on the balance sheet. On completion of the transfer of the risks and rewards of this asset to ICB Ltd, the Department received an element of the payment in cash terms (40 per cent.) and a proportion in reduced future accommodation payments (60 per cent.). The reduction to future accommodation charges is accounted for as a prepayment, and therefore an asset, on the balance sheet.
	The majority of private finance initiative contracts held by the Department for Work and Pensions are recorded as off-balance sheet. These are accounted for as operating leases and expenditure is put straight to the operating cost statement as it is incurred. Where a reduced cash value is received from the contractor, the remaining value of the asset will be disclosed as a prepayment on the balance sheet. The prepayment is then amortised to the operating cost statement over the life of the contract.

Private Finance Projects

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 22 June 2005, Official Report, column 1076W, on private finance projects, what the accounting treatment of assets and liabilities for each of the listed private finance initiatives and public private partnerships is; and whether this treatment is compliant with (a) UK generally accepted accounting practices and (b) international financial reporting standards.

Margaret Hodge: The Department has one on-balance sheet contract which is held with ICB Ltd for serviced accommodation and support functions in respect of Health and Safety Laboratories at Buxton. This private finance initiative contract is accounted for as a finance lease and is disclosed as a liability on the balance sheet. The reduction to future accommodation charges is accounted for as a prepayment, and therefore disclosed as an asset, on the balance sheet.
	The majority of private finance initiative contracts held by the Department for Work and Pensions are recorded as off-balance sheet. These are accounted for as operating leases and expenditure is put straight to the operating cost statement as it is incurred. Where we have consideration for assets transferred to the contractor, this may be received in the form of cash or reduced future rentals. Any of the latter element will be disclosed as a prepayment on the balance sheet. The prepayment is then amortised to the operating cost statement over the life of the contract. This treatment is compliant with HM Treasury guidance detailed in their Resource Accounting Manual, which is based on UK generally accepted accounting practices.

Sure Start

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost of extending Sure Start Maternity Grant eligibility to recipients of (a) long-term incapacity benefit, (b) short-term higher rate incapacity benefit and (c) short-term lower rate incapacity benefit.

Margaret Hodge: The information is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	In order to qualify for a Sure Start Maternity Grant (SSMG), claimants must have an award of one of the income related qualifying benefits or tax credits in respect of the date of claim. The qualifying benefits or tax credits are income support, income based jobseeker's allowance, pension credit, child tax credit at a rate higher than the family element and working tax credit that includes a disability or severe disability element. People who receive incapacity benefit qualify for an SSMG if they receive a qualifying benefit or tax credit.
	An SSMG can be claimed at any time from the 29th week of pregnancy until three months after the birth. There will be claimants who, although they do not qualify before the baby is born, will be entitled to a qualifying benefit or tax credit following the birth and as a consequence may be entitled to receive an SSMG.

TRANSPORT

Air Carrier Insolvencies

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the proportion of leisure air passengers who were protected by the Air Traffic Organisers Licence in each year since 1995.

Karen Buck: Statistics compiled by the Civil Aviation Authority indicate the percentage of UK international leisure air travellers covered by ATOL over the last 10 years (year ending December) were as follows:
	
		
			  Leisure passengers (million) ATOL protected passengers (million) Percentage ATOL protected (percentage) 
		
		
			 1995 23.2 19.1 82 
			 1996 22.2 21.3 96 
			 1997 24.0 23.5 98 
			 1998 27.4 25.0 91 
			 1999 30.3 26.4 87 
			 2000 33.5 28.0 84 
			 2001 35.9 29.1 81 
			 2002 36.8 27.9 76 
			 2003 39.6 27.6 70 
			 2004 42.5 28.1 66

Air Carrier Insolvencies

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the proportion of leisure air passengers who will be protected by the Air Traffic Organisers Licence in each year to 2010.

Karen Buck: The percentage of UK international leisure air travellers who will be covered by ATOL over the next five years is estimated as follows:
	
		Proportion of leisure air travellers with ATOL protection
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 2004 66 
			 2005 5461 
			 2006 4257 
			 2007 3253 
			 2008 2250 
			 2009 2248 
			 2010 2246 
		
	
	From 2005 the percentage is expressed in terms of a range, which reflects high and low estimates for the decline in ATOL protection.

Air Carrier Insolvencies

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of leisure air passengers who flew without Air Traffic Organisers Licence protection in each year since 2000.

Karen Buck: Statistics compiled by the Civil Aviation Authority indicate the number of UK international leisure air travellers not covered by ATOL over the last five years was as follows.
	
		
			  Leisure passengers not ATOL protected (million) 
		
		
			 2000 5.5 
			 2001 6.8 
			 2002 8.9 
			 2003 12.0 
			 2004 14.4

Air Carrier Insolvencies

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the total regulatory compliance cost of the Air Traffic Organisers Licence bonding requirements for tour operators.

Karen Buck: The tour operator industry has estimated that it incurs direct bonding costs of 50-60 million per annum (i.e. the aggregate amount charged by bond obligors to tour operators).
	In addition to this there are costs associated with staff time spent on organising bonding and compliance. The industry estimated these costs at 22 million.
	In addition tour operators pay ATOL fees to the Civil Aviation Authority of approximately 5.5 million per annum.

Air Carrier Insolvencies

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many UK airlines have become insolvent since 2000.

Karen Buck: There have been five airline insolvencies since 2000. They were Gill Aviation in 2001, British World Airlines and HC Airlines in 2002, Euroceltic in 2003 and Duo in 2004. AB Airlines and Debonair became insolvent in 1999 but their operating licences were revoked by the CAA in 2000.

Concessionary Travel

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what additional funding he is providing (a) in England and (b) to each of the district councils in Gloucestershire in 200506 to cover the cost of providing concessionary travel for the over-60s; how much funding he plans to provide in future years; what percentage of the total costs of providing this travel the funding will represent; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Buck: The Government will provide an extra 350 million in 200607 and 367.5 million in 200708 which will be sufficient to fund the cost to local authorities. A decision on how the extra funding will be distributed will be made in due course.

Concessionary Travel

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements he is making to enable cross-boundary travel between County Durham, Tyne and Wear and Teeside under the concessionary travel scheme for over-60s; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Buck: From 1 April 2006, residents who are 60 or over, or disabled will be entitled to free off-peak bus travel within the boundary of the district or unitary council, or the passenger transport executives (PTEs) in metropolitan areas. However, local authorities and PTEs will retain their discretion to work together to provide cross-boundary travel.

Cross London Rail Links

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether a new (a) chair and (b) chief executive of Cross London Rail Links has been appointed; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: There will be an announcement in due course.

Deparatmental Skills Development Plan

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which individual is responsible for developing and implementing his Department's Skills Development Plan.

Karen Buck: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 2 November 2005, Official Report, column 1074W, by my right hon Friend, the then Minister of the Cabinet Office.

Deparatmental Skills Development Plan

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's Skills Development Plan.

Karen Buck: The available copies of the Department's Skills Development Plans have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Estate

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) land and (b) property his Department owns in Kettering constituency.

Karen Buck: holding answer 3 November 2005
	The Secretary of State owns one small plot of land in Kettering, details are as follows:
	Narrow waste strip on Rockingham Road.
	This land adjoins a recently completely residential estate and details have been entered onto the English Partnerships Register of Public Sector land.

Gershon Review

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many full-time equivalent employee reductions his Department has made as a result of the Gershon review; what cost savings relating to IT projects were achieved; what value of efficiency savings (a) were achieved in 200405 and (b) are expected to be achieved in 200506; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Buck: holding answer 3 November 2005
	Progress on efficiency gains and headcount reductions was reported in Budget 2005 and in the departmental annual reports. Further progress will be reported in the Department's autumn performance report and at aggregate level in the pre-Budget report.
	The Department has a published efficiency target for 200506 of 174.8 million.
	Investment in IT projects, for example to open up or extend e-channels, has made a contribution to the Department's Efficiency Programme, but these efficiency gains are not identified or measured in isolation.

Gershon Review

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made, in terms of (a) headcount reductions and (b) cost savings, in achieving the efficiency objectives set for the Department by the Gershon review.

Karen Buck: Progress was reported in Budget 2005 and in the departmental annual reports. Further progress will be reported in the autumn performance reports and at aggregate level in the pre-Budget report.

IT Projects

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many IT projects have been developed for his Department since 2001; and whether he has agreed to make public (a) in full and (b) in part Gateway reviews for these projects.

Karen Buck: 235 IT projects have been developed for DfT from 29 May 2002, when the Department was formed.
	A Gateway review is conducted on a confidential basis for the senior responsible owner of each project. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 each request for the release of information contained in a Gateway Review is considered on a case-by-case basis. To date the Department has not received any requests for disclosure of Gateway reports under FOI.

London Olympics

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the role of the British Transport Police in the run-up to the Olympic Games to be held in London in 2012.

Derek Twigg: British Transport Police (BTP) carries out an important role in maintaining the security of the railways and in deterring potential terrorist activity. The excellent work that it does was demonstrated in its response to events in London on 7 and 21 July.
	The Secretary of State for Transport announced to the House on 11 October 2005 that he is to undertake a review of the role of the BTP. The review will be undertaken by the Department for Transport in parallel with the review of the 43 local police forces being undertaken by the Home Secretary. The aim of the review is to examine the functions of the BTP and whether some or all of these are best carried out by a national force, regional forces, or, indeed, by the industry itself.
	The future role of the BTP in the run up to the Olympic Games, will depend on the outcome of the review.

Motor Vehicle Emissions

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to address air pollution and emissions from motor vehicles.

Karen Buck: Since the early 1990s, tighter EU emissions standards (known as Euro Standards) have been adopted for new cars, light and heavy goods vehicles and buses. The latest (Euro IV) standards are being progressively introduced for all new vehicles over the next 12 months. An additional stage that further tightens the NOx limit for heavy duty vehicles (trucks and buses) is already in place and will come into force in 2008. The European Commission is also giving consideration to further measures that are expected to take effect from the end of this decade. These measures already have, and will continue to play, a major role in further improving air quality.

Noise Pollution

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received regarding noise pollution from cars fitted with double exhausts; and what discussions he has had with manufacturers on this.

Karen Buck: The answer to both points is none. Since 1996, the noise limit for all new passenger cars registered for on-road use in the European Union has been 74 dB(A). This limit applies to all cars, regardless of the type of exhaust system fitted.

Railways

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to direct Network Rail to start work in developing a scheme to lengthen the platform at Bromsgrove station; and what estimate he has made of the costs of such a scheme.

Derek Twigg: Network Rail has commenced discussions with Central Trains and Worcestershire county council to investigate proposals for a platform extension scheme at Bromsgrove station. The decision on whether to proceed will be for Network Rail to take.

Railways

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Department has allocated to the West Midlands for rail transport infrastructure for 200506.

Derek Twigg: The Department does not hold data on the funding allocated for rail transport infrastructure by region. Spending on railway infrastructure is managed by Network Rail, within the total sums made available to them. This amounts to 22 billion for 200506 for the entire rail network, including the West Midlands.
	The West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive as a regional transport authority, also allocates funding support for rail related infrastructure schemes. In 200506 this amounts to 5.262 million.

Railways

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which railway lines he expects to close in order to allow more high speed and freight services to run.

Alistair Darling: There are no plans to close railway lines in order to allow more high speed and freight services to run.

Railways

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the railway lines being considered for closure by his Department in the next 12 months.

Alistair Darling: There are two current closure notices in respect of railway lines between Stratford and North Woolwich and Farringdon and Moorgate.
	The Stratford to North Woolwich notice is in anticipation of the conversion to light rail and the transfer of services to DLR between Stratford International and Royal Victoria stations in East London.
	Rail services between Farringdon and Moorgate are currently provided by main line rail and London Underground (LUL), with LUL being the dominant provider. In connection with the Thameslink 2000 Project, LUL will become the sole provider if proposals are implemented.

Railways

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what restrictions are in place regarding the sale of alcohol on board trains.

Alistair Darling: The national railway byelaws allow a train operator or the police to give reasonable notice prohibiting the possession of intoxicating liquor, and therefore also its sale and consumption, on any specified train service or services.
	The Licensing Act 2003 will give magistrates courts the power to prohibit the sale of alcohol on trains if requested by a senior police officer.

Road Schemes

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the economic impact of the Bexhill to Hastings link road on the local community; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Buck: The Economic Impact Report submitted by East Sussex county council in 2004 as part of their bid for funding for the Bexhill to Hastings link road demonstrated that this scheme would make a significant contribution to the strategy for the regeneration of Hastings. This is one of the factors we took into account in giving Provisional Approval for this scheme in December 2004 for funding through the Local Transport Programme.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts Council England

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much grant-in-aid funding was allocated by Arts Council England to culture in (a) London and (b) Croydon in the financial year 200506.

David Lammy: Arts Council England allocates grant-in-aid funding to their portfolio of regularly funded organisations.
	The following figures supplied by Arts Council England provide a breakdown of the information requested.
	
		Arts Council England, Londonregularly funded organisation budget
		
			 200506  
		
		
			 London 152,343,445 
			 Of which:  
			 Croydonregularly funded organisations  
			 Croydon Clocktower 82,500 
			 London Mozart Players 153,750 
			 Total 236,250

Arts Council England

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much grant-in-aid funding was allocated by Arts Council England to recipients in (a) Hertfordshire and (b) Dacorum in 200506.

David Lammy: Arts Council England allocates grant-in-aid funding to their portfolio of regularly funded organisations.
	The following figures supplied by Arts Council England provide a breakdown of the information requested.
	
		
			 Regularly funded organisation Hertfordshire 200506 () 
		
		
			 Old Town Hall, Hemel Hempstead Dacorum 23,650 
			 SNAP People's Theatre East Hertfordshire 62,375 
			 Trestle Theatre Company St. Albans 248,337 
			 Independent Publishers' Guild North Hertfordshire 25,650 
			 Watford Palace Theatre Watford 679,752 
			 Total  1,039,764

Big Lottery Fund

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the (a) cost to date and (b) projected cost is of the merger of the Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund to create the Big Lottery Fund.

Richard Caborn: The cost to date of the administrative merger of the Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund to create the Big Lottery Fund is 4,976,235. The administrative merger of the funds is now effectively complete, though some minor costs will be incurred in effecting the legal merger, if the National Lottery Bill before Parliament is passed.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism will reply to the letter of 18 August from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (Ref: CMS 21066/DC).

James Purnell: holding answer 27 October 2005
	I wrote to the hon. Member on 26 October 2005.

Departmental Meetings

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what meetings Members of her Department have had with representatives from (a) the Natural History museum, (b) the Royal Armouries, (c) Sir John Soane's museum, (d) Sport England, (e) the Tate Gallery, (f) the UK Film Council, (g) the British Library, (h) UK Sport, (i) the Victoria and Albert museum, (j) Visit Britain and (k) the Wallace Collection since 1 January; and what issues were discussed in each meeting;
	(2)  what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) Officials of her Department have had with representatives from the (i) National Lottery Commission, (ii) National Maritime museum, (iii) National Museum of Science and Industry, (iv) National Portrait Gallery, (v) National Gallery, (vi) National Heritage Memorial Fund (Heritage Lottery Fund), (vii) Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, (viii) Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, (ix) Museum of London, (x) Millennium Commission, (xi) Imperial War museum, (xii) the Tate, (xiii) Horserace Betting Levy Board, (xiv) Football Licensing Authority, (xv) Horniman Public Museum and Public Park Trust, (xvi) Historic Royal Palaces, (xvii) Gaming Board, (xviii) Geffrye museum, (ixx) English Heritage, (xx) CABE, (xxi) Big Lottery Fund, (xxii) Arts Council England, (xxiii) Alcohol Education and Research Council, (xxiv) Churches Conservation Trust and (xxv) British Museum since 1 January; and what issues were discussed in each meeting.

David Lammy: Ministers and Officials hold regular meetings with representatives of the Department's sponsored bodies on a wide range of issues. The detailed information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Digital Switchover

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her plans for help and follow-up support with digital switchover for people aged 75 years and over extend to providing free (a) installation, (b) equipment and (c) telephone helpline advice in relation to digital television reception.

James Purnell: We have made clear that targeted support will be available to households where someone is aged 75 or over; and to households where someone has a severe disabilitydefined as those people eligible for either disability living allowance or attendance allowance.
	The full details of the scheme are being developed, but the assistance will consist of providing the necessary equipment to convert one television set and the relevant support to install and use such equipment. This help will be free for the poorest eligible households, those on income support, jobseeker's allowance or pension credit; other qualifying households will pay a modest fee.

Football Funding (Northern Ireland)

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much (a) lottery and (b) Foundation for Sport and the Arts funding was allocated to (i) soccer and (ii) the Gaelic Football Association in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Richard Caborn: The Sports Council for Northern Ireland has provided the following table that gives a breakdown of figures for lottery funding allocated to (i) soccer and (ii) the Gaelic Football Association in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. I understand that the Foundation for Sport and the Arts does not currently fund soccer or the Gaelic Football Association in Northern Ireland.
	
		
		
			  Soccer Gaelic Football Association 
		
		
			 200102 442,908 657,869 
			 200203 696,561 884,462 
			 200304 322,149 118,112 
			 200405 765,048 750,947 
			 200506 9,000 101,330 
		
	
	Note:
	The old lottery capital funding programmes closed during 200405. The new programme was launched in January 2005; however no offers were made until October 2005.

Freelance Musicians (National Insurance)

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the Treasury first informed (a) her and (b) her Department that freelance musicians would be required to pay higher national insurance contributions.

David Lammy: Implementation of the regulations on national insurance contributions is normally a matter for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Arts Council England and my officials are working with HMRC to find the most practicable solution while keeping me fully informed.

Lottery Tickets

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many retailers sell National Lottery tickets; and how many of those retailers also sell Olympic Lottery tickets.

Richard Caborn: We have been informed by Camelot Group plc. the National Lottery operator, that currently 27,686 retailers sell lottery tickets and 88 per cent. of them hold stocks of Go For Gold Olympic Lottery scratchcards.

Lottery Tickets

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many retailers selling National Lottery tickets have declined to sell Olympic Lottery tickets.

Richard Caborn: Camelot Group plc. have informed us that they do not collect this information. However, they are not aware of any retailers having declined to sell Go For Gold Olympic Lottery scratchcards.

Lottery Tickets

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance has been given to retailers selling National Lottery tickets on the sale of Olympic Lottery tickets.

Richard Caborn: Camelot Group plc. have informed us that guidance for retailers is the same as for other games in the scratchcard portfolio. However, retailers have been informed that Good Cause revenue generated through the Go For Gold Olympic Lottery scratchcard would help to raise the funding required to stage the London Games. Camelot maintains on-going dialogue with retailers, who are able to seek help and advice from the operator via the retailer hotline.

Museums and Galleries (London)

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether visitor numbers for those museums and galleries in London that are funded by grant in aid have declined since the terrorist attacks in July.

David Lammy: Yes, the numbers of visits to London-based museums and galleries sponsored by my Department have fallen since the terrorist attacks in July. Compared to the same period last year, visit numbers fell by 20 per cent. in July and by 30 per cent. in August. However, recent figures have shown an improvement, with only a 5 per cent. drop in visits in September.

National Heritage Act

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many undertakings to indemnify objects under section 16 of the National Heritage Act 1980 have been made in each year since 1990 by (a) her Department and its predecessors and (b) the Museums Libraries and Archives Council and its predecessors; what the contingent liabilities were in each case; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: Information on undertakings to indemnify objects prior to the setting up of the Department of National Heritage in 1992 is no longer available. The information from 1992 is set out in the following table which details all statutory/non-statutory actual and contingent liabilities held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its predecessor, the Department of National Heritage, as at the end of each financial year.
	
		
			  Financial year Number of indemnities Contingent liabilities () 
		
		
			 200405 1,034 2,751,808,379 
			 200304 687 3,177,492,071 
			 200203 714 3,063,354,125 
			 200102 629 2,466,655,792 
			 200001 647 2,041,341,917 
			 19992000 626 1,829,371,639 
			 199899 520 2,230,770,568 
			 199798 596 1,568,106,674 
			 199697 469 1,337,264,837 
			 199596 452 1,366,004,790 
			 199495 469 2,096,423,871 
			 199394 437 1,844,520,914 
			 199293 501 1,187,879,848

Olympic Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what rules govern the staging of other sports fixtures in the UK during the Olympic games in 2012.

Richard Caborn: The IOC, as part of the host city contract, ask all host cities to take steps to ensure that no major event that could have an impact on the successful organisation and staging of the games takes place in London or at other competition venues during the period of the games. The Government and LOCOG will be working with the IOC, venue owners, local authorities and national governing bodies to ensure we take a common sense approach to the application of this particular requirement.

Olympic Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether any member of the English Institute of Sport had discussions with (a) candidates, (b) potential candidates and (c) voting members during the recent elections to the chairmanship of the British Olympic Association.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 28 October 2005
	The English institute of Sport (EIS) is not a body sponsored by this Department but is grant funded by and therefore accountable to Sport England.
	I have been informed by Sport England that the chair of the EIS was asked by a potential candidate for the post of chairman of the BOA for his personal opinion as to whether their possible candidacy had merit. On his behalf, the EIS chairman contacted a voting member of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) about the possibility of a late nomination for the potential candidate being accepted. The potential candidate ultimately did not stand.
	I have also been informed that at no stage did the EIS chairman have discussions with, or make suggestions to, NOC members about how they should vote in the election.

Olympic Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many businesses in the Marshgate area need to be resettled to accommodate the London 2012 Olympics; how many have accepted final settlements; and by what date the relocation needs to be completed.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 28 October 2005
	There are 284 businesses (of which 96 are in or adjacent to Marshgate Lane) in the Olympic Park area that the London Development Agency is seeking to engage with individually to understand their relocation requirements and to discuss with them the LDA's offer to acquire their premises by agreement.
	164 of these have appointed advisers in order to start negotiations and the LDA has reached in-principle agreements with 31 businesses, of which 22 have signed Heads of Agreements.
	The majority of the businesses in the Olympic Park area will need to move by mid-2007. However around 53 of the businesses will not be required to relocate until later in the process, as vacant possession of their land is not required until 2009.

Olympic Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how compensation for businesses due to be relocated due to the London 2012 Olympics is calculated ; and on what date the land value is assessed.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 28 October 2005
	The businesses or parties with an interest in the land to be acquired under a confirmed Compulsory Purchase Order are compensated under the statutory Compensation Code.
	They receive the market value of their premises or other land interests. In addition they are entitled to the following: a disturbance payment in terms of either the business' relocation or extinguishment, a statutory loss payment can be made to commercial and residential owners/occupiers based on a percentage of market value of their property or interests. They are also paid the reasonable costs of their legal advisors and surveyors. Each party with a compensateable interest is entitled to appoint a chartered surveyor to negotiate the compensation on their behalf with the acquiring authority. Disputes as to the level of compensation payable are referred to the Lands Tribunal.
	If the CPO is confirmed the date of land valuation is either a date the parties agree as appropriate, or the date the acquiring authority takes possession of the land. This will not be before the date on which the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry issues his decision concerning confirmation of the CPO.

Olympic Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what rules govern the use of sports stadiums whose name includes an advertisement as a venue for Olympic Sports in 2012.

Richard Caborn: The IOC require all host cities to sign up to a comprehensive Look of the Games programme, which includes details of how Olympic venues are presented. All 2012 venues, as part of this programme, have agreed to give LOCOG the exclusive control of all venues naming rights and signage for the period of the Games.

Television Signal

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to provide individuals with assistance with the switchover to digital television.

James Purnell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, North (Ann McKechin) on 28 October 2005, Official Report, column 614W.

World Cup

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which day in 2006 has been earmarked for the return of the football World Cup trophy to England in the event of victory in Germany.

Richard Caborn: In the event of the England football team being victorious at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, suitable arrangements to celebrate this success and to welcome both the team and trophy home will be made with the relevant authorities.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Servants

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what account is taken of differences between the value of civil service pension provision and that of workers in comparable jobs in the private sector in setting the pay of civil servants.

Jim Murphy: When making recommendations to Government on pay for the senior civil service, the independent Senior Salaries Review Body reviews all the elements of the total reward package, including pension, and compares them with those available to executives with similar roles in the private and wider public sectors. The Government are not bound to accept the Review Body's advice but always consider its independent views.
	Departments and agencies have authority to determine pay and conditions for their staff below the senior civil service which are appropriate for their business needs and are consistent with Government's policies on the civil service and take account of the Government's policies on public sector pay. Her Majesty's Treasury's annual Pay Remit Guidance makes it clear that pay is only one element of the total reward package. Accordingly, Departments and agencies are expected to take account of the overall package, including pensions, when benchmarking against pay levels in the wider economy.

Civil Servants

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the cohort life expectancy of (a) male and (b) female civil servants retiring in normal health at age 60 (i) was in 1972, (ii) is based on the latest available data and (iii) is projected on dates for which estimates are available up to 2045.

Jim Murphy: The Scheme Actuary to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) has provided the following figures for the expected average life expectancy of civil servants retiring in normal health at age 60:
	
		
			  Male Female 
		
		
			 1972 79.5 83.2 
			 2003(55) 84.4 87.4 
			 Current civil servants 86.8 89.8 
		
	
	(55) The assumptions used for existing pensioners in the last review of employer contributions to the PCSPS.
	No projected figures have been made for each year up to 2045.

Departmental Staff (Literacy and Numeracy)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the literacy and numeracy skills of new recruits to his Department.

Jim Murphy: The Cabinet Office competence based recruitment system is designed to identify candidates with the most suitable skills and competences for the job. Candidates are assessed on their ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing, and where necessary asked to provide evidence of their numeracy levels. There is also scope, within the selection system, for further testing of candidate's communication and numerical skills through verbal and numerical reasoning tests.

Departmental Staff (Literacy and Numeracy)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proportion of new recruits to his Department do not have a level 2 qualification in English and mathematics.

Jim Murphy: All new recruits to the Department within the last 12 months have at least a level 2 qualification in English and mathematics.

Duchy Property (Kettering)

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what (a) land and (b) property the Duchy owns in the Kettering constituency.

Jim Murphy: The Duchy of Lancaster does not own any land or property in the Kettering constituency, but does have certain manorial rights, mainly relating to minerals.

e-Government

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the level of security on the e-Government network.

Jim Murphy: Her Majesty's Government operates the Government Secure Intranet (GSI) which is kept under regular security assessment to ensure that risks are mitigated to an appropriate level. As part of the critical national infrastructure, connections to the GSI are assured through the National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre (NISCC) authorisation.

Gershon Review

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many full-time equivalent employee reductions were made in his Department as a result of the Gershon review; what cost savings relating to IT projects have been made; what value of efficiency savings (a) were achieved in 200405 and (b) are expected to be achieved in 200506; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: Progress in 200405 will be reported in the Cabinet Office's Autumn Performance Report.
	No savings are planned relating to information technology projects.
	The Department has an efficiency target for 200708 but no intermediate target for 200506.

Influenza Pandemic

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he has drafted regulations to be laid before Parliament under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 in the event of an influenza pandemic.

Jim Murphy: The Government maintain a set of draft emergency regulations which could be made in the event of any emergency which met the thresholds set out in Part 2 of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. The thresholds are that the emergency itself must be sufficiently serious, it must be necessary to take new powers, and that any new powers taken must be proportionate to the situation.
	These draft regulations are generic, and so do not include any specific regulations which relate to an influenza pandemic. However, they do include a range of powers in relation to human health and connected matters, which could be quickly adapted to the specific requirements of a pandemic should the need arise.

Staff Relocation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people in his Department (a) were relocated in 200405 and (b) are expected to be relocated in 200506 as a result of the Lyons review of public sector relocation; to which places they have been relocated; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: No posts were relocated in 200405. 15 posts are expected to move to Warrington in 200506 as the first tranche of the relocation of part of the e-Government Unit. Details have yet to be finalised.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Asylum and Immigration Tribunal

George Mudie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the average time was between the receipt of papers by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal from the Home Office appeals processing centre and the relevant appeal taking place in the last period for which figures are available.

Bridget Prentice: The latest provisional information from the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) indicates that, for the period April to end of June 2005, the average time between the AIT receipt of an appeal from the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND), and the date set for a substantive appeal hearing before an immigration judge, is as follows:
	(i) Five weeks for asylum appeals; and
	(ii) Nine weeks for immigration appeals (comprising in-country and entry clearance cases but not including family visitor appeals).
	This information only applies to appeals received by the AIT from the IND. It does not include appeals lodged directly with the AIT following its commencement on 4 April 2005.

Asylum Seekers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many failed asylum seekers are appealing against a Home Office decision to deport them from Great Britain.

Bridget Prentice: The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) does not hold information on the current numbers of failed asylum seekers who have appeals before it arising from the service of a notice of the intention to deport, by the Immigration Services, pursuant to s.63 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
	Checks with the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) of the Home Office have confirmed that IND do not collate information on the numbers of failed asylum seekers appealing against these type of decisions.

Carbon Management Programme

Norman Lamb: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether her Department will sign up to the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management programme.

Bridget Prentice: My Department is fully committed to reducing carbon emissions and is signed up to the Government's Energy White Paper which sets targets of reducing absolute carbon from fuel and energy efficiency used in buildings on their estate by 12.5 per cent. by 201011 relative to 19992000. My Department also fully recognises the need for Government Departments to show leadership on energy efficiency, and has over the past 10 years introduced a rolling programme of energy surveys and energy saving works.
	At this time the Department is finalising its sustainable development strategy, which includes targets for reduction of energy consumption and on-going energy savings works. The Department will consider joining the Carbon Trust's scheme as part of its on-going sustainable development action plan.

Court Fines (Northern Ireland)

Peter Robinson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much has been collected in fines at magistrates courts in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

Bridget Prentice: Fines collected in magistrates courts in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years are as follows:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 200203 3,577,780 
			 200304 4,267,210 
			 200405 4,755,490

Court Service (Northern Ireland)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she expects to report on the outcome of the investigation being carried out into irregularities that may have occurred involving private firms and the Court Service in Northern Ireland.

Bridget Prentice: The Northern Ireland Court Service asked the Police Service of Northern Ireland to investigate the circumstances surrounding the participation of two of its officials in a sailing holiday at the invitation of a prominent contractor. This investigation is still ongoing.
	I am not in a position to indicate when that investigation will be concluded as the conduct of the police investigation is a matter for the PSNI.
	In addition to the police investigation the Northern Ireland Court Service also established an independent investigation into the acceptance of gifts and hospitality. As the police investigation necessarily has primacy, the independent investigation will not be completed until after the police investigation has been concluded.

Debt Arrears

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many county court judgments have been (a) registered and (b) issued on people due to arrears of unsecured debt for each month for which data is available since 1990, broken down by county; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The Department does not hold all of the information requested and it could be provided only at a disproportionate cost. However, the following table sets out the number of judgments against individual consumers registered each month from January 1990 to September 2005, which is the only information currently available.
	
		Register of county court judgmentsconsumer judgment registrations
		
			  January February March April May June July 
		
		
			 2005 73,907 62,590 68,125 72,072 62,191 59,758 71,776 
			 2004 41,606 41,098 42,138 34,853 38,202 55,363 47,412 
			 2003 76,178 45,369 50,894 38,761 59,449 40,535 44,187 
			 2002 63,531 56,354 55,259 45,292 60,157 36,424 39,045 
			 2001 68,150 56,607 66,113 48,399 52,255 59,141 49,657 
			 2000 92,243 68,006 77,014 56,113 52,811 59,516 62,739 
			 1999 81,642 86,304 75,699 109,384 62,968 55,070 61,746 
			 1998 93,327 79,002 71,250 77,961 74,483 57,552 82,466 
			 1997 84,926 107,860 76,562 74,719 103,650 63,886 68,007 
			 1996 84,078 98,125 105,669 36,748 105,082 88,898 75,101 
			 1995 88,948 99,593 126,052 83,374 72,427 99,758 74,368 
			 1994 119,135 117,656 106,045 123,136 96,614 87,041 131,611 
			 1993 155,683 120,209 117,931 162,124 113,685 93,263 145,130 
			 1992 183,888 163,795 148,529 133,550 135,080 114,873 195,345 
			 1991 130,910 128,514 181,412 142,848 161,703 88,868 112,879 
			 1990 86,699 87,644 136,615 84,878 72,509 102,516 160,033 
		
	
	
		
			  August September October November December Totals 
		
		
			 2005 89,510 85,144645,073 
			 2004 55,178 59,160 67,838 82,550 44,985 610,383 
			 2003 72,444 56,496 64,413 44,296 38,346 631,368 
			 2002 66,072 54,120 58,242 59,632 35,841 629,969 
			 2001 78,956 63,768 55,838 63,400 34,705 696,989 
			 2000 72,939 74,776 85,464 68,394 49,785 819,800 
			 1999 67,220 72,948 89,101 69,571 60,437 892,090 
			 1998 72,898 83,082 103,994 85,840 60,238 942,093 
			 1997 97,063 82,921 97,715 84,980 49,856 992,145 
			 1996 116,951 105,238 94,304 89,472 43,054 1,042,720 
			 1995 94,416 118,381 121,355 95,095 72,228 1,145,998 
			 1994 92,508 135,392 99,634 105,535 90,462 1,304,769 
			 1993 114,437 106,082 141,478 108,341 95,498 1,473,861 
			 1992 125,630 129,717 146,182 99,005 112,442 1,688,036 
			 1991 151,409 224,236 187,770 197,800 109,262 1,817,611 
			 1990 178,813 149,651 133,799 184,048 108,803 1,486,008

Debt Arrears

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent assessment his Department has undertaken of the circumstances in which financial institutions can repossess debtors' homes in order to collect unsecured debts; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: My Department has not undertaken, nor have any plans to undertake, an assessment of the circumstances by which an individuals home can be repossessed due to unsecured debts.

Debt Arrears

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many proceedings for the repossession of mortgaged property were initiated in each quarter since 1988, broken down by region; and how many repossessions were granted to lenders in each quarter.

Bridget Prentice: A table setting out the relevant mortgage possession figures from the 1st Quarter 1988 to the 3rd Quarter 2005, broken down by region has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The 2004 and 2005 figures are provisional and therefore liable to revision to take account of any late amendments.

Departmental Property (Kettering)

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what (a) land and (b) property her Department owns in Kettering constituency.

Harriet Harman: The Department for Constitutional Affairs has two freehold properties within the electoral constituency of Kettering county. These are Kettering magistrates court, located in London Road, Kettering, and Kettering county court, located in Dryland Street, Kettering. We do not hold any land separately within the electoral constituency of Kettering.

DNA Bioscience

David Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether DNA Bioscience is accredited for DNA-related work in the UK.

Bridget Prentice: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Monmouth (David T.C. Davies) on 24 October 2005, Official Report, column 8W. I am still investigating the matters raised by the hon. Member's question, and I will write when I am in a position to do so.

Expert Witnesses

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on the training received by individuals who give expert testimony in court.

Fiona Mactaggart: I have been asked to reply.
	Training for individuals who give expert testimony in court is available from a range of commercial bodies. It is also often supplied by the professional bodies to which many of those who give expert evidence belong. We welcome the recent initiative by the Bar Council clarifying the duty of counsel to ensure that evidence in support of a client's case is presented to best effect.

Great War Medal Index

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Great War Medal Index cards are privately owned.

Harriet Harman: On 6 May 2005, by authority delegated from the Lord Chancellor, The National Archives (TNA) approved the presentation of the bulk of the First World War Army medal rolls' index cards to the Western Front Association (WFA). A small sub-collection, for awards to women, was separately presented to the Imperial War Museum. Approval in both cases was granted by virtue of section 3.6 of the Public Records Act 1958, under which records thus presented lose their public record status and pass into the legal ownership of the recipient institution.

Great War Medal Index

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what criteria were used in making the decision to pass the original Great War Medal Index Cards to the Western Front Association.

Harriet Harman: The decision to pass the First World War Army medal index cards to the Western Front Association (WFA) was based on the following criteria:
	The WFA's ability to provide adequate storage for the whole collection, appropriate in terms of both environmental and physical security
	The WFA's preparedness to accept the full collection
	The WFA's commitment, and declared wish, to enable access to the information by researchers as soon as practicable

Great War Medal Index

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what tendering process was undertaken for the storage of the Great War Medal Index Cards.

Harriet Harman: Following the agreement in principle to pass the Great War Medal Index cards to the Western Front Association (WFA), it became the WFA's responsibility to find appropriate premises for the storage of the cards. No tendering process was undertaken by The National Archives or by the Ministry of Defence.

Great War Medal Index

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list military museums which are classified as National Archive depositories.

Harriet Harman: The regimental and corps museums listed have appointments, under the Public Records Act 1958 section 4(1), as places of deposit for preserved public records:
	Airborne Forces Museum
	Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre
	Cheshire Military Museum Archives
	Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst Collection
	Tank Museum

Hearings in Chambers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what guidance she has provided to the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to representation at hearings by justices in chambers.

Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
	When the police arrest a suspect and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) makes a decision to charge the suspect, the custody officer will decide whether to detain or to admit the suspect to post-charge bail until the first court hearing.
	At court, the magistrates will consider the issue of bail afresh, following a bail recommendation by the Crown prosecutor and bail representations by the defence.
	Following the introduction of statutory charging, the police now have an additional power to release a suspect on pre-charge bail to obtain a charging decision from a Crown prosecutor.
	On 21 May 2004, the Director of Public Prosecutions issued guidance to police officers and Crown prosecutors under section 37A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The guidance sets out the cases which must be referred to prosecutors for charging decisions and the circumstances in which a release on bail before charge may be appropriate in accordance with the amendments to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Further guidance was issued in April 2005 to the CPS and the police on the use of pre-charge bail.

Unsecured Debts

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether she plans to bring forward proposals to increase enforcement powers for financial institutions seeking to recover unsecured debts; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: My Department set out proposals to reform the civil enforcement process in the White Paper Effective Enforcement, published March 2003.
	The introduction of our proposals, which are subject to the availability of parliamentary time for new legislation, seek, among other things, to streamline the charging order process as opposed to increasing powers. In addition, in looking to address the issue of vulnerable debtors and unscrupulous lenders, the proposals aim to tighten the licensing procedure for those involved in enforcement to tackle some of the difficulties experienced within the lending sector. My Department and other Government Departments continue to liaise closely on this.
	While looking to protect vulnerable debtors the Government also recognise that responsible creditors who are owed money and having gained valid judgments through the courts should have the right to enforce that judgment by the most appropriate means available.

Voter Registration

Diane Abbott: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what measures she has taken to increase the registration on the electoral register of black and ethnic minorities.

Harriet Harman: The Electoral Commission published its report Understanding Electoral Registration in September this year. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of registration rates and a detailed analysis of non-registration by ethnic group.
	The report shows that on 15 October 2000the date on which the report's analysis is basedthe level of non-registration among the eligible all ethnic minority in England and Wales was 17 per cent. My Department is actively working with representatives from black and ethnic minorities groups such as Operation Black Vote, Blink 1990 Trust, The Muslim Council of Britain, Muslim Public Affairs Committee, Hindu Council of Britain, Hindu Forum of Britain to increase awareness on voter registration. My Department is also co-hosting a seminar on under-registration in London and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Convention on Tibet (Edinburgh)

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government will be represented at the International Parliamentary Convention on Tibet in Edinburgh in November.

Jack Straw: No. We are aware of the meeting. It is not an official event. The Government have no involvement in it and will not be represented at it.
	Our position in respect of Tibet is long-standing and is unchanged.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter of 7 September from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton with regard to Mr. Siddak Ali.

Kim Howells: My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman of Tottenham) replied to my right hon. Friend on 2 November.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter of 26 September from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton with regard to Mrs. Tahira Hussain.

Kim Howells: My right. hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary replied on 25 October.

Custodial Sentences (Overseas)

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British nationals are serving custodial sentences outside the UK, broken down by category of offence.

Kim Howells: Records on numbers of British nationals serving custodial sentences overseas broken down by every offence are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, on 31 March 2005, British consular staff were aware of 2,764 British nationals in detention overseas. 1,266 British nationals were detained for drugs-related offences, and 118 for child sex-related offences. These figures include detainees on remand, as well as those serving custodial sentences.

Custodial Sentences (Overseas)

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British nationals are serving custodial sentences outside the UK, broken down by country.

Kim Howells: Records on numbers of British nationals serving custodial sentences overseas are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, on 31 March 2005, British consular staff were aware of 2,764 British nationals in detention overseas. The breakdown is shown in the following table. This figure includes detainees on remand, as well as those serving custodial sentences.
	
		
			 Country Total 
		
		
			 Albania 0 
			 Algeria 0 
			 Angola 0 
			 Antigua and Barbuda 10 
			 Argentina 9 
			 Armenia 0 
			 Australia 190 
			 Austria 5 
			 Azerbaijan 1 
			 Bahamas 0 
			 Bahrain 0 
			 Bangladesh 1 
			 Barbados 16 
			 Belarus 0 
			 Belgium 42 
			 Belize 1 
			 Bolivia 8 
			 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 
			 Botswana 0 
			 Brazil 37 
			 Brunei 0 
			 Bulgaria 1 
			 Burma 0 
			 Cambodia 5 
			 Cameroon 0 
			 Canada 15 
			 Chile 1 
			 China 24 
			 Colombia 9 
			 Congo (Democratic Rep) 0 
			 Costa Rica 7 
			 Croatia 0 
			 Cuba 1 
			 Cyprus 14 
			 Czech Republic 2 
			 Denmark 12 
			 Dominican Republic 0 
			 East Timor 0 
			 Ecuador 10 
			 Egypt 7 
			 Eritrea 0 
			 Estonia 0 
			 Ethiopia 1 
			 Fiji 0 
			 Finland 1 
			 France 163 
			 Gambia 1 
			 Georgia 0 
			 Germany 119 
			 Ghana 6 
			 Greece 11 
			 Grenada 0 
			 Guatemala 0 
			 Guyana 2 
			 Hungary 0 
			 Iceland 0 
			 India 25 
			 Indonesia 3 
			 Iran 0 
			 Iraq 2 
			 Ireland 86 
			 Israel 2 
			 Italy 16 
			 Jamaica 119 
			 Japan 50 
			 Jordan 2 
			 Kazakhstan 0 
			 Kenya 2 
			 Korea, DPR (North Korea) 0 
			 Korea, Republic of (South Korea) 1 
			 Kuwait 1 
			 Laos 2 
			 Latvia 0 
			 Lebanon 0 
			 Lesotho 0 
			 Libya 0 
			 Lithuania 3 
			 Luxembourg 3 
			 Macedonia 0 
			 Madagascar 0 
			 Malawi 1 
			 Malaysia 3 
			 Malta 3 
			 Mauritius 0 
			 Mexico 11 
			 Moldova 0 
			 Mongolia 0 
			 Morocco 8 
			 Mozambique 0 
			 Namibia 1 
			 Nepal 1 
			 Netherlands 75 
			 New Zealand 15 
			 Nicaragua 1 
			 Nigeria 0 
			 Norway 9 
			 Oman 0 
			 Pakistan 17 
			 Panama 4 
			 Papua New Guinea 0 
			 Paraguay 0 
			 Peru 19 
			 Philippines 27 
			 Poland 1 
			 Portugal 11 
			 Qatar 2 
			 Romania 2 
			 Russian Federation 0 
			 St. Lucia 9 
			 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 1 
			 Saudi Arabia 1 
			 Senegal 0 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 0 
			 Seychelles 0 
			 Sierra Leone 2 
			 Singapore 21 
			 Slovakia 0 
			 Slovenia 0 
			 Solomon Islands 0 
			 South Africa 26 
			 Spain 268 
			 Sri Lanka 0 
			 Sudan 0 
			 Swaziland 0 
			 Sweden 23 
			 Switzerland 6 
			 Syria 0 
			 Taiwan 20 
			 Tajikistan 0 
			 Tanzania 0 
			 Thailand 114 
			 Tonga 0 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 27 
			 Tunisia 1 
			 Turkey 4 
			 Turkmenistan 0 
			 Uganda 0 
			 Ukraine 0 
			 United Arab Emirates 22 
			 USA 923 
			 Uruguay 0 
			 Uzbekistan 0 
			 Vanuatu 0 
			 Venezuela 24 
			 Vietnam 5 
			 Yemen 2 
			 Zambia 0 
			 Zimbabwe 4 
			   
			 Total 2,764

Custodial Sentences (Overseas)

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British nationals have served custodial sentences outside the UK in each year for the last 10 years.

Kim Howells: Records on the numbers of British nationals serving custodial sentences overseas are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the following table provides a figure for the number of new cases of British nationals detained overseas each year for the last nine years. These figures include both those detained and released without charge or acquitted, and those who went on to serve custodial sentences.
	
		
			  Total 
		
		
			 1996 5,639 
			 1997 6,039 
			 1998 6,159 
			 1999 6,501 
			 2000 8,758 
			 2001 7,861 
			 2002 6,501 
			 200304 6,744 
			 200405 5,975

Departmental Staff (Literacy and Numeracy)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what methods of assessment of (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills are used as part of the recruitment process by employees of his Department.

Jack Straw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 October 2005, Official Report, columns 50708W. Examples of the ability tests used during the recruitment process are available from Capita Recruitment Agency at www.productinfo@.capita.co.uk.

Ethiopia

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent shootings in Addis Ababa; and what action he has taken to express the UK's concern to the Ethiopian authorities.

Ian Pearson: We are extremely concerned about the outbreaks of violence in Ethiopia since 1 November and are monitoring events closely. There have been a number of deaths and injuries and we offer our sincere condolences to the families of the victims. We deplore all types of violence whether by security forces or demonstrators. We have called on all sides to exercise maximum restraint, to desist from confrontation and violence and to respect the laws of Ethiopia.
	My noble Lord the Minister for Africa (Lord Triesman of Tottenham) summoned the Ethiopian Charge d'Affaires on 1 November to underline the Government's concerns, including at the arrest of Opposition leaders and some civil society representatives. We have urged that all those not to be charged should be released immediately. We have also urged that all detainees should have access to due legal process and the protection afforded by the Constitution. The British Ambassador in Addis Ababa made the same points to the Ethiopian Foreign Minister on 2 November and the Prime Minister on 3 November.

G8 Summit (Gleneagles)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost was of hosting the G8 Summit in Gleneagles.

Ian Pearson: An estimate for the organisational costs of the G8 Summit of 12.1 million has been made available on the G8 website at www.g8.gov.uk. A breakdown of this figure for the organisational costs of the Gleneagles Summit is nearly ready for publication. The process has been delayed to allow some suppliers to submit final invoices.
	These details will then be placed in the Library of the House and made available on the G8 web site.
	Securing the Gleneagles Summit was the responsibility of the Devolved Administration and I understand that Scottish Ministers are separately preparing to release these costs.

Holy See

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 1 November 2005, Official Report, column 954W, on Holy See, why no advert inviting applications for the post of UK Ambassador to the Holy See was published in any national paper of Scotland.

Jack Straw: The advert appeared in broadsheet newspapers and The Economist which have a UK-wide distribution to ensure that we reached a wide pool of potential candidates in all parts of the UK.

India

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the strength is of the British Trade Mission in India.

Ian Pearson: The total number of staff carrying out commercial work in each of the United Kingdom Trade and Investment's offices in India is set out in the table as follows.
	
		
			 Market/Post Total 
		
		
			 India  
			 Ahmedabad 2 
			 Bangalore 7 
			 Bhopal 1 
			 Chennai 7 
			 Hyderabad 3 
			 Kolkata 7 
			 Mumbai 22 
			 New Delhi 25 
			 Pune 2

Iran

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what UK policy is towards Iran; and what changes have been made as a consequence of the deaths of British soldiers in which the Government said there was Iranian involvement.

Kim Howells: We have serious concerns about Iran's policies in a number of areas. With other members of the United Nations Security Council, we have condemned President Ahmadinejad's remarks on 26 October about Israel.
	The UK's policy towards Iran is one of critical engagement. We aim to support reform in Iran where possible, and at the same time to encourage Iran to address serious international concerns about its policies in areas such as its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, human rights, and its approach towards terrorism and the Middle East Peace Process.
	The nature of some explosive devices used against British troops and others in Iraq suggests a connection with elements linked to Iran or with Lebanese Hizbollah, which has close ties to Iran. We continue to investigate. We have pressed the Iranian authorities on many occasions to play a constructive role in Iraq, and cut their links to armed groups. We have called on Iran to do more to live up to its public promises to improve border security, fight terrorism and not to interfere in Iraq's internal affairs.

Iran

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations are being made to the Iranian Government about the statement made by its President on the right of the state of Israel to exist.

Kim Howells: The United Nations Security Council has spoken for the whole international community in condemning the remarks about Israel attributed to President Ahmadinejad.
	We summoned the Iranian Charge d'affaires on 27 October to protest. On the same day, we issued a statement on behalf of European Union Heads of Government, which condemned the comments in the strongest terms. The statement emphasised that calls for violence, and for the destruction of any state, are manifestly inconsistent with any claim to be a mature and responsible member of the international community.

Iran

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will break off diplomatic relations with Iran following its President's remarks about Israel.

Kim Howells: The European Union has condemned in the strongest terms the remarks about Israel attributed to President Ahmadinejad. We have also summoned the Iranian Charge d'Affaires in London to protest.
	The UK's policy towards Iran remains one of critical engagement. We aim to support reform in Iran where possible, and at the same time to encourage Iran to address serious international concerns about its policies in areas such as its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, human rights, and its approach towards terrorism and the Middle East Peace Process.

Iraq

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence he has received of Iranian involvement in Iraqi resistance groups operating in the British sector of Iraq.

Kim Howells: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said, the nature of some explosive devices used, including against British troops, leads us either to Iranian elements or to Lebanese Hezbollah, which has very close links with Iran's Revolutionary Guards. We are unable to provide further details as to do so could prejudice the capability, effectiveness, and security of Iraqi, UK and other coalition armed forces.

Iraq

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on the replacement of stored locally grown seeds traditionally used by Iraqi farmers by annually licensed genetically modified seeds imported from the US; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Ministers have received letters from hon. Members in recent months on behalf of constituents concerned about the impact on Iraqi farmers of the Coalition Provisional Authority's Order no. 81. Other than this correspondence, Ministers have received no representations on the replacement of locally grown seeds in Iraq by genetically modified seeds, imported from the US or elsewhere.
	Order 81 concerns the registration and protection of intellectual property rights in new plant varieties. The Order was the subject of consultation and co-ordination with the Iraqi Governing Council, and was consistent with the needs identified by the United Nations for the development of Iraq and its transition from a centrally planned to a market-based economy.
	This Order has no effect on existing breeds of plants, such as those used by most Iraqi farmers. It should not therefore affect the ability of Iraqi farmers to save seeds from traditional sources. Farmers will also continue to have a choice of sources for their seed supply, saving their own seeds of traditional and unprotected varieties, or buying seeds which are subject to patent or plant variety rights protection.

Iraq-Niger (Alleged Uranium Deal)

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to paragraphs 91 and 92 of the Intelligence and Security Committee Report, Cm 5972, Session 200203, whether the Government has been informed as to when the US Federal Bureau of Intelligence investigation ordered by Senator Rockefeller in March 2003 into the source of the forged documents on an Iraq-Niger uranium deal is due to report.

Kim Howells: The investigation requested by Senator Rockefeller is continuing. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has still not given an indication of when the investigation will be completed.

IT Projects

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many IT projects have been developed for his Department since 2001; and whether he has agreed to make public Gateway reviews for these projects (a) in full and (b) in part.

Jack Straw: There have been 19 major Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) IT projects subject to Office of Government commerce gateway criteria and review since 2001. The FCO has not so far published Gateway reviews of projects.

Libya

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to visit Libya; and what his long-term goals are for Anglo-Libyan relations.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no current plans to visit Libya.
	The UK's work with the US which led to Libya's decision to dismantle its weapons programmes has, we believe, established a relationship of trust. As the Foreign Secretary said in January 2004, for our part, we have recognised our responsibility to enable Libya to come fully into the mainstream of the international community. That is what we will work to achieve, including through increased cooperation between the UK and Libya. We remain aware of Libya's past record, but believe it is right to build on the improvement in relations.

Middle East

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Palestinian authority on the situation in the Middle East; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We have had regular discussions with the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership on the situation in the Middle East. During my visit to the region in September, I raised with PA representatives the need for the PA to build on the opportunity offered by disengagement, to stop violence, and to show real progress on security reform.
	We continue to call on the PA to take further action on security. The PA must act decisively against terrorists who launch rocket attacks and suicide bombings at Israeli targets.
	We also believe Israel must meet its own obligations under the Roadmap, including freezing settlements and dismantling outposts. Both parties must move forward in parallel if we are to see real progress.

Spain

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Spanish government about the implementation of Ley Reguladora de Actividades Urbanisticas with respect to the way it applies to British citizens in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised the implementation of the Ley Reguladora de Actividades Urbanisticas (LRAU) with the Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, in October 2004. Our Ambassador in Madrid and our Consul in Alicante, have continued to lobby the Central and Regional Governments. They have also made representations both bilaterally and in conjunction with other countries. The Valencia Autonomous Community's (VAC) own Ombudsman has criticised law 6/94. In response to lobbying, the Valencia regional government drew up a new law to replace the LRAU, the Ley Urbanistica Valenciana (LUV). While the proposed new law addresses some of the concerns expressed by interested parties, it does not give the sort of tenure guarantees and property rights that are enjoyed in other parts of Spain and other European countries: nor does it fully address many of the Ombudsman's criticisms.
	We will continue to give as much publicity as we can to the risks of buying property in this part of Spain. We will use every opportunity, including high level visits, to remind the central and autonomous regional governments of our concerns.

UK Embassies (Security)

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the cost of contract security staff in UK embassies in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: We take the security of our staff, both overseas and in the UK, extremely seriously. The level of threat faced by our staff serving in certain parts of the world is high. We need to ensure that our staff working in these high threat areas are protected to enable them to carry out their duties effectively.
	For the period before 1 April 1999, the information is no longer available.
	For the period from 1 April 1999 to March 2004, the information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. In the financial year 200405, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London spent 34.1 million on overseas security contracts. For this financial year, we estimate that we will spend 50.1 million. In addition, many of our overseas missions have guarding contracts with local security companies. These figures are not held centrally and the aggregate value of the contracts could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Architects Registration Board

John Gummer: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will reconstitute the Architects Registration Board so that jurisdiction extends only to practising architects who have chosen not to be a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Yvette Cooper: The Government have no plans to provide two separate registration systems.

Building Regulations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many building regulations have been put in place over the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: The Building Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/2531) consolidated all previous building regulations. They have been amended by the following regulations:
	The Building (Amendment) Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/3335), which amended the requirements for Parts H (Drainage and Waste Disposal), J (Combustion Appliances and Fuel Storage Systems) and L (Conservation of Fuel and Power) of the Regulations.
	The Building (Amendment) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/0440), which introduced competent person self-certification schemes for the installation of heat-producing appliances and replacement glazing.
	The Building (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/2871), which amended the requirements for Part E (Resistance to the passage of sound) of the Regulations.
	The Building (Amendment) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2692), which amended the requirements for Part M (Access) of the Regulations.
	The Building (Amendment) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/1465), which amended Part C (Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture) and further amended Part E (resistance to the passage of sound) to allow the use of robust details to satisfy the requirements.
	The Building (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2004 (SI2Q04/1808), now entirely revoked.
	The Building (Amendment) (No.3) Regulations 2004 (SI2004/3210), which introduced Part P (Electrical safety) and authorised further competent person self-certification schemes.

Carbon Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the average carbon emissions associated with (a) the construction of a new average-sized dwelling and (b) the demolition of an existing average-sized dwelling.

Yvette Cooper: BRE figures suggest that that the embodied energy (which covers the extraction of construction materials, processing, transport and manufacture) associated with the construction of a traditional build house of three bedrooms, 90 sq metres, built under current building regulations, and to the national building specification for England and Wales is 35 tonnes CO 2 equivalent. We are not aware of any such estimates relating to demolition of existing houses.

Council Tax

David Davies: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when preparations for the current council tax re-banding process began.

Phil Woolas: The Valuation Office Agency started preliminary work on council tax revaluation in England in December 2002. As reported to the House on 10 October 2005, Official Report, column 5WS, in the written statement by my right hon. Friend the Member for South Shields (Mr. Miliband), the Government announced on 20 September 2005 that it intended to legislate to postpone the revaluation and that preparatory work was being stood down.

Council Tax

David Davies: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people employed by his Department have been involved in council tax re-banding exercises to date.

Phil Woolas: Staff in three posts in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister were working principally on matters related to council tax revaluation in England until the Government's announcement of 20 September that preparatory work was being stood down. A number of others contributed to a lesser degree.

Council Tax

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the revaluation of council tax in (a) the Kettering constituency and (b) Northamptonshire.

Phil Woolas: The terms of reference for Sir Michael Lyons' independent inquiry require him to make recommendations on how best to reform council tax, taking into account revaluation of domestic property. My right hon. Friends the Deputy Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have agreed with Sir Michael that he will extend his work so that he can consider issues relating to the functions of local government and its future role, as well as, and prior to, making recommendations on local government funding. The Government have introduced into the House the Council Tax (New Valuation List for England) Bill which provides for the postponement of council tax revaluation. This will enable revaluation to take account of the Lyons Inquiry's extended work which will inform the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007.

Decent Homes Standard

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister by what date he expects all social rented homes will have met the decent homes standard.

Phil Woolas: Work completed and local programmes already in place take us 90 per cent. of the way to meeting our target of bringing all social homes up to the decent homes standard by 2010. We are now focusing our efforts on dealing with the remaining 10 per cent.

Departmental Energy Consumption

Norman Lamb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much energy has been consumed by his Department in each of the last five years; and how much was spent on energy in each year.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) was formed in May 2002. The energy used and costs incurred since this date are:
	
		
			  Weather corrected energy use (KWh)  Cost () 
		
		
			 200203   
			 ODPM 43,035,355 1,310,609 
			 QEII Conference Centre 11,286,795 271,529 
			
			 200304   
			 ODPM 50,384,483 1,291,870 
			 QEII Conference Centre 12,493,963 392,903 
			
			 200405   
			 ODPM(56) 46,870,430 1,136,946 
			 QEII Conference Centre 13,287,478 490,739 
		
	
	(56) Figures for 200405 exclude The Rent Service which was transferred to The Department of Works and Pensions in April 2004
	The ODPM figure includes Fire Service College and Planning Inspectorate, while for historical reasons QEII is recorded and reported separately. The answer does not include figures for 26 Whitehall which is managed by the Cabinet Office, and for which the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister pays an agreed proportion of the cost of all services supplied by the Cabinet Office.
	This answer does not include the buildings occupied by Government Offices, who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.

Departmental Estate

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) land and (b) property his Department owns in Kettering constituency.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not own any land or property in the Kettering constituency.

Departmental Staff (Literacy and Numeracy)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of new recruits to his Department do not have a level 2 qualification in English and mathematics.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not keep records of the educational qualifications of its recruited staff and to determine this would be at disproportionate cost. All our recruitment is based on applicants meeting competences and it is possible that recruitment to some grades does not require candidates to have specific qualifications.

Departmental Skills Development Plan

Nick Gibb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's Skills Development Plan.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has placed a copy of the Skills Development Plan in the Library of the House.

Departmental Spending

David Davies: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much his Department spent on items of art in 200405.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not spent any money on the purchase of works of art in 200405. Any work of art displayed in our buildings is provided by the Government Art Collection on a loan basis.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the hon. Member for Tottenham (Mr. Lammy) on 1 November 2005, Official Report, column 896W.

East of England Regional Chamber

David Ruffley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost of the East of England regional chamber (a) was for the last two years and (b) is projected to be in the next two years.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 17 October 2005, Official Report, column 817W. Figures for Government grant to East of England Regional Assembly for the next two years are not yet available.

English Partnerships

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to change the level of investment into Milton Keynes via English Partnerships over the next four years.

Yvette Cooper: Milton Keynes, as part of the Milton Keynes-South Midlands Growth Area, forms an important part of the Government's Sustainable Communities agenda.
	Distribution of English Partnerships investment nationally and including that in Milton Keynes is a matter for English Partnerships' Board, and is set out in English Partnerships' annual Corporate Plan once Ministers have agreed it. English Partnerships expenditure in Milton Keynes in 200506 is forecast to be in the order of 57 million. We are discussing English Partnerships' future national programme and priorities as part of their current corporate planning round for the years 200506 to 200809.
	Funding for ODPM programmes, including English Partnerships, for 200809 to 201011 will be dependent on the results of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007.

Fire Service

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what was the average time taken by the West Midlands Fire Service to arrive on scene in response to a 999 call in each of the last 12 months.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The available information covers attendance at primary fires. The following table shows the average response time to primary fires attended by West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service each month during 200405. This is measured in minutes from time of first call to the fire and rescue service to time of arrival at the scene.
	
		Primary fires attended by West Midlands FRS: Average response times, 200405
		
			  Minutes 
		
		
			 April 5.9 
			 May 6.0 
			 June 5.9 
			 July 6.0 
			 August 6.2 
			 September 5.9 
			 October 6.1 
			 November 6.2 
			 December 5.9 
			 January 6.1 
			 February 6.1 
			 March 5.7 
			 200405 6.0 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures for 2004/05 are provisional.
	2. Data exclude late calls, heat and smoke damage only incidents.
	Source:
	Fire and Rescue Service FDR1 returns to ODPM.

Fire Service

Michael Penning: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average time taken by Hertfordshire Fire Service to arrive on the scene of an incident in response to a 999 call has been in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The available information covers attendance at primary fires only. The following table shows the average response time to primary fires attended by Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service each year since 1997. This is measured in minutes from time of first call to the fire and rescue service to time of arrival at the scene.
	
		Primary fires attended by Hertfordshire FRS: Average response times 19972004
		
			  Response time (minutes) 
		
		
			 1997 6.8 
			 1998 6.9 
			 1999 7.0 
			 2000 7.2 
			 2001 7.0 
			 2002 7.2 
			 2003 7.4 
			 2004(57) 6.9 
		
	
	(57) Figures for 2004 are provisional
	Note:
	Figures are based on sampled, weighted data and exclude late calls, heat and smoke damage only incidents.
	Source:
	Fire and Rescue Service FDR1 returns to ODPM.

Fire Service

Adam Holloway: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effect on the number of jobs in (a) the parliamentary constituency of Gravesham (b) the county of Kent and (c) the South East region of establishing a regional fire control room for the South East region.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Following the establishment of regional fire control centres the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects fewer people to be employed in delivering control room services, both nationally and in individual regions. Work is in hand to define the precise number of staff that will be required to run the new control centres in each region, though final decisions on staff numbers will ultimately be a matter for the employers, not for ODPM. No detailed assessment has been made on the effect on the number of jobs in Gravesham or in Kent.

Fire Service

Adam Holloway: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact on Fire and Rescue Service average response times in Gravesham of establishing a regional fire control room for the South East region.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects that the establishment of the new national network of control centres will result in response times under normal operating conditions that are as good as or better than now. We expect a significant improvement however during surges in demand or when dealing with particularly large incidents. It is not possible to assess the impact on response times in Gravesham.

Fire Service

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what evaluation of the Firelink system will be carried out in advance of the move to regional control centres.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The competition for the Firelink system for the Fire and Rescue Service has followed EU procurement rules. The specification for the wide area radio communications system was output based to ensure that current functions required by the Fire and Rescue Service could be met, in addition to ensuring a high level of resilience and interoperability both within the Fire and Rescue Service and with the other emergency services. The evaluation of final bids from suppliers has been based on four key areas: technical issues, project management, procurement and whole life costs. The outcome of the competition will be based on the balance of these factors. all of which will enable the Firelink system to be migrated into the regional control rooms.

Fire-related Deaths (Leeds)

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many fire-related deaths there have been in dwellings in Leeds, north-west in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: West Yorkshire fire and rescue service have supplied the following information on the number of fire-related deaths in dwellings in Leeds north-west from 1997 to 2004.
	
		
			  Number of deaths in dwelling fires 
		
		
			 1997 2 
			 1998 1 
			 1999 3 
			 2000 0 
			 2001 1 
			 2002 1 
			 2003 0 
			 2004 0 
		
	
	All the fire deaths in the table were fires accidentally started in dwellings, there were no deaths in deliberate dwelling fires.

Green Belt

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 11 October 2005, Official Report, column 440W, on green belt, if he will list the type of development in each case that was (a) refused and (b) allowed.

Yvette Cooper: Further information about the cases referred to in the answer of 11 October has been made available in the Libraries of the House. This information relates to cases decided between 1 April 1999 and 30 September 2005 and indicates the type of development for each case that was refused or allowed.

Green Belt

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans his Department has to establish a national register of (a) the total area of land within the existing green belt and (b) applications for a change of use for green belt land.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 28 October 2005
	A national database has been established to monitor the extent of green belt in England based on digitising green belt boundaries in proposal maps in local development plans. The first results using this methodology were published in April 2000 based on local development plans in existence in 1997. An update was published in September 2004, based on local development plans in 2003. This approach, using digitisation technology provides much more reliable figures than those published prior to 2000. There are no present plans to monitor planning applications for change of use for green belt land.

Green Belt

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what total area of land within the green belt has had a change of use status since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: Estimates for average land area within designated green belt that has assumed a change of use each year are from Land Use Change Statistics as shown as follows.
	
		Annual average area of land within 1997 designated green belt that has changed use 19972003 -- Hectares
		
			  New use 
			 Previous use Undeveloped Developed Total 
		
		
			 Undeveloped 3,573 817 4,390 
			 Developed 556 811 1,367 
			 Total 4,129 1,628 5,757

Green Belt

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Government plans to build houses on green belt land in east Tilbury, Thurrock.

Yvette Cooper: Any proposals for new housing in east Tilbury will have to be considered through the planning system in the normal way. Each individual planning application must be considered on its own merits and determined principally against relevant policies in an adopted development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. There remains a general presumption against inappropriate development within the green belt. Such development should not be approved except in very special circumstances, as set out in planning policy guidance note 2, green belts.
	The Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation is currently developing a regeneration framework which will set the context for the likely range of regeneration activities in the for the Thurrock area. It is expected to consult on this shortly.

Highbury

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2005, Official Report, column 15W, on Highbury, what monitoring his Department has undertaken of section 106 agreements relating to the Arsenal stadium, Lough Road and Highbury Square developments.

Yvette Cooper: Central Government do not monitor the implementation of individual planning obligations (or section 106 agreements), as these are private agreements between local planning authorities and developers. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister sets a national policy framework for planning obligations, within which local planning authorities have freedom to establish and implement their own local policies and detailed procedures.

Homelessness

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what the levels of child homelessness have been in each Government office region in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many accommodation places are provided for homeless children in each Government office region area.

Yvette Cooper: Information reported each quarter by local authorities about their activities under homelessness legislation distinguishes the number of households accepted as unintentionally homeless, in priority need and consequently owed a main homelessness duty that contain one, two and three or more children. It is therefore possible to calculate an estimate of the number of children in these households and this information has been made available in the Library of the House.
	Also identified, since 2002, are the number of households in temporary accommodation that contain dependent children and/or an expectant mother, on the last day of the quarter and, since 2004, the number of dependent or expected children in these households. This information has been made available in the Library of the House.
	Information about the total number of units of temporary accommodation potentially available for use by households with children is not available centrally.

Homelessness

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will estimate how many homeless (a) 16-year-olds and (b) 17-year-olds there have been in Leeds, North West since 1997; and how many have been placed in bed and breakfast accommodation in Leeds, North West in each year.

Yvette Cooper: As local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation are reported in terms of local housing authority districts, information is collected for Leeds City Council, within which the Leeds, North West constituency is located.
	Under the Housing Act 1996, local authorities have a statutory duty to provide assistance to those who are homeless, or threatened with homelessness, and a main homelessness duty (to ensure that suitable accommodation is available) is owed where the authority is satisfied that the applicant is eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and within a priority need category.
	The priority need categories were extended in July 2002 to include all applicants aged 16 or 17. Previously the category vulnerable young persons would have included those aged 16 and 17, but these cannot be separately identified. Since that time, the authority has reported 860 applicants aged 16 or 17 and found to be owed a main homelessness duty, as follows:
	
		
			  All acceptances Of which: 16 to 17-year-olds as percentage of All 
		
		
			 July 2002 to March 2003 3,760 264 7 
			 April 2003 to March 2004 4,950 338 7 
			 April 2004 to March 2005 2,780 216 8 
			 April 2005 to June 2005 510 42 8 
		
	
	Applicants with, or expecting, children will be classified under the priority categories households with dependent children and household member pregnant respectively as the main qualification; these categories may therefore include some 16 and 17-year-old applicants, but these cannot be separately identified.
	Upon acceptance some of these applicants will have been provided with a settled housing solution immediately, while others will have been placed in some form of temporary accommodation, which could include bed and breakfast. As information reported about households in the various forms of temporary accommodation does not distinguish the applicant's age, it is not possible to provide the number 16 and 17-year-olds placed in bed and breakfast. However, Leeds ceased using bed and breakfast to accommodate households after March 2004.

House Competition Costs

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will publish the construction (a) strategies and (b) costs of the competitors in the 60,000 house competition; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and English Partnerships are working to prepare a publication drawing out the lessons that have been learned from the Design for Manufacture competition. The consortia that submit bids at stage II and III of the competition will be invited to feed into the publication, which will seek to highlight what was best about each of the bids and what lessons may be drawn from them in terms of best practice for the construction industry as a whole. It will include information about costs, technologies and construction strategies. We aim to be able to publish this document by spring 2006, and are also exploring other ways to ensure that the lessons learnt are disseminated and adopted across the industry.
	In addition English Partnerships intend to measure and monitor, using construction industry key performance indicators, the actual construction efficiency (both cost and process) during the construction phase and the whole life cost/occupancy costs while the homes are in habitation. This will be a longer term project, but data will be made available to the construction industry and the regeneration sector in due course.

Housing

Adam Holloway: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many affordable housing units have been (a) built and (b) procured in Gravesham since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows the number of new homes built or acquired/refurbished in Gravesham from 199798 to 200405 through the Housing Corporation approved development programme and local authority social housing grant. The number of homes acquired/refurbished includes an element for properties in registered social landlord (RSL) ownership which have been re-improved (such as by providing an extension to the property).
	
		Completions in Gravesham 199798 to 200405
		
			  (a) New build (b) Acquired/refurbished 
		
		
			 199798 24 7 
			 199899 21 16 
			 19992000 18 3 
			 200001 20 2 
			 200102 24 24 
			 200203 64 3 
			 200304 21 2 
			 200405 92 10 
		
	
	Source:
	Housing Corporation.

Housing

Iain Wright: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to increase the number of units of (a) social and (b) affordable housing in Hartlepool constituency.

Yvette Cooper: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister, through Government office for the north-east, is working with a range of bodies in Hartlepool to deal with the issues of social and affordable housing. The borough has considerable reserves of housing land, particularly brown-field land at Victoria Harbour and at Middle Warren, where a wide range of house types and prices can be accommodated.
	The New Deal for Communities (NDC) partnership is working in west central Hartlepool to address the issue of market failure which was becoming a problem. One of the biggest challenges for the NDC is to tackle the decline in older terraced housing in the area, to make it an area where young families want to move into and where people want to stay. A plan has been put in place, approved by residents, and a resident led company, Hartlepool Revival, has been set up to put the plan into action. The company has its own legal status and is seen as the sustainable element of NDC in Hartlepool.
	Excellent groundbreaking work was undertaken by the NDC, which involved wide participation from NDC residents and local stakeholders. This resulted in the publication of the promised Community Housing Plan in May 2003. The Community Housing Plan is the residents' and NDC's way of tackling the housing market failure that parts of the area have suffered.
	The Community Housing Plan was developed by social regeneration consultants, in consultation with local residents, to determine the future of the 113 streets in the NDC area. This ensured community leadership of the creation of a plan which is robust enough to stand up in all necessary legal areas alongside the statutory local plan and the local authority's housing strategy. Hartlepool borough council has an active role in the management of this programme via their presence on the NDC housing sub-group. The plan will establish principles which will guide the Area Re-Modelling Project in years 310, including establishing areas which may be considered for possible demolition. The plan is expected to transform the NDC area upon completion.

Housing

Mike Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what modelling work his Department is doing to evaluate the infrastructure needs for its housing projections in (a) the South East and (b) London.

Yvette Cooper: The Government continue to support work to assess overall infrastructure requirements for housing growth, such as the approach taken in the Milton Keynes Prospectus and in other growth location business plans. For example, partners in Milton Keynes have estimated that the infrastructure required until 2016 to accommodate 15,000 new homes in the expansion areas of Milton Keynes will cost 1.2 billion. We welcome this work and anticipate that partners in other growth locations will undertake similar infrastructure assessment exercises.
	Assessing the infrastructure requirements for growth is a complex and evolving process due to both the detailed layout of development and new approaches in the nature of service provision affecting what is needed. Therefore the total cost of infrastructure requirements will vary from one growth location to another.
	The Government's aim is to provide as much information as it can on likely future levels of support but this needs to be made in the context of the public expenditure cycle.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is working closely with other Government Departments to ensure that planned investment in transport, schools, hospitals, green infrastructure and other facilities supports new housing in the growth areas.

Housing

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many dwellings have been refurbished under the decent homes standard programme; and how many further dwellings the Government plan to refurbish under the programme.

Yvette Cooper: Since 1997 we have reduced the number of social homes that do not meet the decent homes standard by more than one million out of a total of 2.1 million. Work completed and plans in place will take us 90 per cent. of the way towards meeting our target of ensuring that all social sector homes meet the standard. We are now focusing our efforts on dealing with the remaining 10 per cent.

Housing

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what the average cost is per dwelling of refurbishment under the Government's decent homes standard programme;
	(2)  what have been the 10 most expensive refurbishments under the Government's decent homes standard programme;
	(3)  how many refurbishments under the decent homes standard programme cost more than 20,000.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister holds information on a scheme by scheme basis on the cost of delivering decent homes, but there would be a disproportionate cost in calculating an average cost per dwelling across all schemes, and in analysing all this data to provide the most expensive schemes and those costing more than 20,000.

Housing

Jim Cousins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many (a) affordable housing units and (b) housing units for special needs he expected to be provided when he gave his consent to the Newcastle Gateshead Pathfinder giving Newcastle city council funds to buy part of the land owned by Newcastle Breweries;
	(2)  what conditions he agreed to be placed on Newcastle city council in return for the grant of funding to buy land owned by Newcastle Breweries; and on what date he gave his consent for this expenditure.

Yvette Cooper: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister does not give consent to specific pathfinder projects. However, given the significance of the proposals relating to the Newcastle Breweries site, officials from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) were consulted and kept informed by the pathfinder throughout the process leading to the purchase. In order to maintain compliance with the Pathfinder's funding agreement, the land purchased will need to be redeveloped for residential or mixed use. Any profit from the disposal of the land will need to be used for regeneration activities within the pathfinder area or returned to ODPM.
	No decisions have yet been taken by the Pathfinder on the numbers of affordable housing units or housing units for special needs that will be built on the Newcastle Breweries site. The Pathfinder will need to consider a number of factors, including the views of the community, housing market intelligence, technical surveys and detailed work on the identification of options for housing provision to secure optimum design, type, and tenure.

Housing

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will change the building regulations to ensure that each new build property (a) includes renewable energy facilities and (b) is energy efficient.

Yvette Cooper: Part L of the Building Regulations sets levels for energy performance in ways that offer designers the flexibility to choose solutions that best meet their needs, are cost-effective and practical, and enable innovation. Without prescribing solutions this enables builders to take up the benefits of renewable and other low and zero carbon technologies. In September the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister announced further improvements to these energy efficiency requirements that will come into effect next April and will encourage greater take-up of renewable systems.

Housing

David Laws: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which 25 local authorities had the highest number of households on the housing register per head of population in the local authority area as at 1st April; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The 25 local authorities with the highest percentage of households in their local authority that are on the local authority's housing list are provided in the table.
	Local authorities in England report the numbers of households on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns. Local authorities sometimes maintain a common waiting list with the housing association/s in their district. However, information is not held centrally where a Housing Association maintains a separate waiting list to the local authority.
	
		Local authorities with the 25 highest percentage figures for number of households on their housing register at 1 April 2005
		
			 Local authority Region Number of households on housing register Households on register as a percentage of total households in local authority area 
		
		
			 Sheffield Yorkshire and the Humber 72,604 33 
			 City of London London 1,204 30 
			 Newham London 25,317 26 
			 Tower Hamlets London 21,183 24 
			 Mansfield East Midlands 9,784 24 
			 Haringey London 19,930 20 
			 Camden London 16,532 17 
			 Sandwell West Midlands 19,655 17 
			 Bradford North West 32,046 17 
			 Corby East Midlands 3,404 16 
			 Lewisham London 18,279 16 
			 Brent London 17,351 15 
			 Bolton North West 16,096 15 
			 Sunderland North East 16,222 14 
			 Rotherham Yorkshire and the Humber 13,903 13 
			 South Tyneside North East 8,649 13 
			 Bassetlaw East Midlands 5,750 13 
			 Great Yarmouth East of England 5,035 13 
			 South Kesteven East Midlands 6,509 12 
			 Salford North West 11,216 12 
			 Walsall West Midlands 12,024 12 
			 Hounslow London 10,382 12 
			 Wirral North West 15,524 11 
			 Blackburn with Darwen UA North West 6,177 11 
			 Rushmoor South East 4,151 11

Housing

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of homes built for key workers have been sold to key workers, broken down by region.

Yvette Cooper: The percentage of homes built for key workers that have been sold/let or are in the process of being sold/let to key workers is:
	64 percent. in London,
	65 percent. in the south-east and;
	83 percent. in the east.
	The remaining units are in the process of being marketed for sale/let. 47 percent. of these key worker units have only been completed in the last three months. A cascade mechanism is in place to deal with any units that are difficult to sell/let.

Housing

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of tenant involvement in (a) registered social landlords after privatisation, (b) arms-length management organisations and (c) council controlled housing; and what steps he plans to take to strengthen tenant involvement.

Yvette Cooper: The Audit Commission considers resident involvement in its inspections of local authorities, arms length management organisations and registered social landlords. Inspection reports are available on the Commission's website at:
	www.audit-commission.gov.uk.
	In addition, RSLs are required to publish an annual tenant involvement impact assessment.

Housing

Michael Penning: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many vacant homes there are in Hertfordshire; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: There were 10,980 empty homes in Hertfordshire as at November 2004, the latest date for which figures are available. The data are as reported on CTB1 and CTB1S forms submitted by billing authorities to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister each year. The figure includes both long and short-term empty properties.
	The Government are introducing new powers from April next year for local authorities to reduce the number of long term empty homes in their area.

Literacy and Numeracy

Nick Gibb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many employees in his Department requested training to improve their (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills in each year since 2002.

Jim Fitzpatrick: This information is not held centrally.

Literacy and Numeracy

Nick Gibb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much his Department spent on in-house training on (a) literacy and (b) numeracy (i) in total and (ii) per head in each year since 2002.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Nil. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has not provided in-house training on literacy or numeracy.
	ODPM's approach has been to raise awareness of staff and line managers through its induction package for new entrants, introduced in May 2004; and to all staff through various marketing mechanisms including the ODPM intranet and other promotional activities.
	Where development advice has been requested on literacy and numeracy, learners have been referred to appropriate providers whose assistance is free of charge.

Literacy and Numeracy

Nick Gibb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what methods of assessment of (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills are used as part of the recruitment process by employees of his Department.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not use specific literacy or numeracy tests. All of our recruitment is carried out using a competence based process that requires the candidate to demonstrate how they meet the skills required for the post(s). This requires a good level of literacy. If we had a post that required specific numeracy skills, we would take advice from our recruitment consultants on the most appropriate method of assessment.

Local Government

Michael Penning: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans the Government have for the restructuring of local government; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is aware of the debate in local government about moving from two tier to unitary local government. This is a debate which is led from within local government. We are following the debate with interest.

Local Government

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the Audit Commission's plans to move Comprehensive Performance Assessment to a star rating measure.

Phil Woolas: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission. I will ask the chief executive to write to the hon. Member and ensure the answer is made available in the Libraries of the House.

Local Government

Michael Penning: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the merits of unitary status for councils in Hertfordshire.

Phil Woolas: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has made no such assessment. We are aware of the debate in local government about moving from two tier to unitary local government but this is a debate which is led from within local government. We are following the debate with interest.

Local Government

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received about the proposal to move to whole council local elections every four years, as outlined in the consultation document Vibrant Local Leadership.

Phil Woolas: Following publication of the discussion document Vibrant Local Leadership which indicated that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was minded to agree with the Electoral Commission's recommendation that all English local authorities should hold whole council elections, we have received seven requests from district councils to move to whole council elections and several other representations generally in support of change.

Local Government

Andy Reed: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what consultations have been held with local authorities about the new data being used to calculate the day visitor indicator as part of the formula spending share; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The option to update the day visitor indicator was part of the wider consultation on changes to the Local Government Finance Distribution system, which ran for a 12 week period between 19 July and 10 October 2005.
	The research underlying the option was also disseminated and discussed at the Local Government Finance Settlement Working Group (SWG) to which local authority representatives attend.
	Both the consultation papers and SWG papers have been placed on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website.

Local Government

Andy Reed: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact of the new data for day visitor indicators as part of the formula spending share on the financial position of Charnwood borough council.

Phil Woolas: No exemplification has been made for any authority on the impact the inclusion of the new day visitors indicator would have on formula spending shares.

Local Government

Andy Reed: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) time period and (b) methodology was used in amending the day visitor indicator of the formula spending share; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The information is as follows:
	(a) The proposed update to the day visitors indicator outlined in the recent Formula Grant Distribution consultation paper used data from the 200203 Great Britain Day Visits Survey, the 2001 census and the 2003 Labour Force Survey. Data from Visit Britain and the Ordnance Survey were also used.
	(b) The methodology on the updated modelling of the day visitor indicator can be found on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's local government finance website at: http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/0607/swg0508/dayvisitors.pdf
	Ministers are currently considering whether to use the updated day visitor data in the 200607 Formula Spending Shares taking into account representations received during the consultation on this issue. The decision will be announced to the House later this year as part of the provisional local government settlement.

Pathfinder Areas

Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many dwellings in each pathfinder area have been (a) demolished and (b) constructed in each year since 2001.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows the number of demolitions, constructions and refurbishments funded directly by Housing Market Renewal Funding and are for the year 200405 for which we have data. The information comes from core indicator returns submitted to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister by the pathfinders every six months.
	
		Number
		
			 Pathfinder Demolitions Constructions Refurbishments 
		
		
			 Birmingham Sandwell 71 47 10 
			 East Lancashire 397 0 674 
			 Hull and east Riding 0 0 0 
			 Manchester Salford 677 2,114 4,304 
			 Merseyside 122 6 2,446 
			 Newcastle Gateshead 409 9 489 
			 North Staffordshire 234 6 141 
			 Oldham Rochdale 78 0 832 
			 South Yorkshire 1,097 0 760 
			 Total 3,085 2,182 9,656

Planning

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance the Government have provided to local planning authorities on informing nearby local residents that a planning application in their vicinity has been submitted; and what definition of vicinity he uses in this context.

Yvette Cooper: A local planning authority's duty to publicise planning applications is explained in Department of Environment Circular 15/92, Publicity for Planning Applications. Within the requirements of the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995, authorities have discretion to decide what level and type of publicity would be appropriate in a particular case. The term vicinity is not defined. However, the circular does urge authorities to go beyond the minimum legal requirements when inviting local people to comment on planning applications. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects authorities to make use of their websites in this context. Authorities should also set out, in Statements of Community Involvement, their own policy on consultation about applications; for example, when and how local amenity or residents' groups should be informed.

Railways (Fire Precautions)

John McDonnell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2005, Official Report, column 402W on railways (fire regulations), if he will seek from local fire and rescue authorities the number of railway stations and premises in their areas covered by the Fire Precautions (Sub-Surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In the answer to my hon. Friend on 10 October, the latest figures reported by the Fire and Rescue Service at that time showed that 168 such premises are known in England and Wales in 200304. However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has subsequently been informed by the Cleveland Fire and Rescue Service that they do not have a sub surface railway station. The revised number is therefore 167. These are in each area as follows:
	
		Premises in England and Wales subject to enforcement under the Fire Precautions (Sub-Surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989
		
			 Fire and Rescue Service Number 
		
		
			 London 160 
			 Merseyside 5 
			 South Wales 1 
			 West Midlands 1

Railways (Fire Precautions)

John McDonnell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2005, Official Report, column 402W, on railways (fire regulations), how many of the premises covered by the Fire Precautions (Sub-Surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989 in 200304 were (a) metro or underground stations and premises and (b) national heavy rail stations and premises.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The statistics the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister receives from local fire and rescue authorities do not differentiate between (a) metro or underground stations and premises, nor (b) national heavy rail stations and premises.

Regional Chambers

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2005, Official Report, column 340W, on regional chambers, for what reasons the Audit Commission does not audit the other regional chambers; if he will place in the Library copies of the assemblies' most recent business plans; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to my answers of 1 November 2005, Official Report, column 907W, and 25 October 2005, Official Report, column 340W.
	The web addresses for the eight regional assemblies in England and their umbrella body the English Regions Network are detailed below:
	East of England Regional Assemblywww.eera.gov.uk
	East Midlands Regional Assemblywww.emra.gov.uk
	North East Assemblywww.northeastassembly.gov.uk
	North West Regional Assemblywww.nwra.gov.uk
	South East England Regional Assemblywww.southeast-ra.gov.uk
	South West Regional Assemblywww.southwest-ra.gov.uk
	West Midlands Regional Assemblywww.wmra.gov.uk
	Yorkshire and the Humber Assemblywww.yhassembly.gov.uk
	English Regional Networkwww.ern.gov.uk.

Rossendale Borough Council

Janet Anderson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost to public funds has been to date of the corporate recovery of Rossendale borough council since the draft Corporate Governance Inspection Report of May 2002.

Phil Woolas: Since May 2002 Rossendale borough council has received 167,000 from the ODPM capacity building fund to assist with areas such as financial management and procurement, project management, risk management, member development and leadership programmes.

Section 106 Agreements

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what information he collates on the cash in lieu of developments held under section 106 agreements by each London local authority.

Yvette Cooper: Information on the contributions made by developers under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is not collected centrally. Local planning authorities, including London boroughs, record this information on their individual planning registers.

Sustainable Buildings

Alan Reid: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps are planned to apply the new code for sustainable buildings.

Yvette Cooper: From April 2006 all new residential homes receiving Government funding will need to meet the new code for sustainable buildings. The new code for sustainable buildings is a voluntary scheme being developed by Government and industry. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends to issue a formal consultation paper in the near future and aim to publish the code early in 2006.

Telecommunications Masts

Paul Burstow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 12 September 2005, Official Report, column 2441W, on telecommunication masts, if he will break down the figures by Government office region.

Yvette Cooper: The following table gives the number of planning appeals received, decided and allowed for telecommunications (including radio/TVmast/aerial/dish/antenna), both in total and for each Government office.
	
		
			  2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Received in calendar year 
			 Total 871 637 752 459 
			 East Midlands 38 21 25 17 
			 East of England 69 65 80 41 
			 London 184 168 113 104 
			 North East 50 32 53 11 
			 North West 126 66 93 58 
			 South East 156 144 212 113 
			 South West 76 60 45 37 
			 West Midlands 107 47 102 57 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 65 34 29 21 
			  
			 Decided in calendar year 
			 Total 761 705 478 596 
			 East Midlands 34 18 18 19 
			 East of England 63 72 41 67 
			 London 144 187 104 91 
			 North East 45 37 35 31 
			 North West 107 83 55 74 
			 South East 131 144 121 167 
			 South West 80 64 30 50 
			 West Midlands 92 61 51 76 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 65 39 23 21 
		
	
	
		
			  Allowed (percentage) in calendar year 
			  2002 2003 2004 2005 
			  Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage 
		
		
			 Total 517 (67.9) 413 (58.6) 252 (52.7) 328 (55.0) 
			 East Midlands 26 (76.5) 11 (61.1) 11 (61.1) 10 (52.6) 
			 East of England 42 (66.7) 41 (56.9) 22 (53.7) 37 (55.2) 
			 London 88 (61.1) 114 (61.0) 41 (39.4) 49 (53.8) 
			 North East 36 (80.0) 24 (64.9) 24 (68.6) 18 (58.1) 
			 North West 79 (73.8) 47 (56.6) 35 (63.6) 39 (52.7) 
			 South East 78 (59.5) 83 (57.6) 61 (50.4) 90 (53.9) 
			 South West 55 (68.8) 34 (53.1) 14 (46.7) 25 (50.0) 
			 West Midlands 66 (71.7) 33 (54.1) 28 (54.9) 47 (61.8) 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 47 (72.3) 26 (66.7) 16 (69.6) 13 (61.9)

Tenancies

Margaret Moran: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many tenancies have ceased at the end of an introductory tenancy, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) registered social landlord.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Tenancies

Margaret Moran: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will publish a draft bill on tenure reform.

Yvette Cooper: The Law Commission are planning to publish a draft Bill setting out their proposals on tenure reform in 2006.

Thames Gateway

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the timetable is for the building of the Thames Gateway project.

Yvette Cooper: Creating Sustainable Communities: Delivering the Thames Gateway, a strategy document launched earlier this year by my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, sets out the vision for growth and regeneration of this important area over the next 10 years and longer. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's target is to deliver 120,000 new homes by 2016 and alongside this are projects to deliver improvements to roads and public transport, infrastructure for health, education and skills and environmental protection. In addition to these large scale infrastructure projects, Government are funding a range of projects that unlock further regeneration or growth potentialfor example by revitalising town centres and bringing brownfield land back into productive use.

Travellers

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2005, Official Report, column 24W, on Travellers, what the budget of the new Gypsy and Traveller Unit is for 200506; and what its planned (a) work programme and (b) activities are.

Yvette Cooper: The Gypsy and Traveller Unit, supported by Government offices in the regions, is working closely with local authorities, local police forces and representatives of the Gypsy and Traveller community, to promote increased site provision alongside effective use of enforcement powers against inappropriate sites. The overall aim is to reduce tensions between Gypsies and Travellers and the settled community through effective accommodation provision and enforcement on public sites. To help with this it is producing a plain guide to enforcement powers and is reviewing what more can be done to make them work effectively.
	The unit is also working with other Government Departments and stakeholders to look at the social exclusion and service provision for Gypsies and Travellers.
	The budgeted cost of the unit for 200506 is 0.5 million.

NORTHERN IRELAND

11-plus Examination

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment and the Department for Education Northern Ireland will evaluate the proposals by Dr. Hugh Morrison of Queen's University, Belfast, for an alternative to the 11-plus examination; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: Following the Government's decision to end academic selection, there are no plans for an alternative testing regime to replace the 11 plus tests. New admissions arrangements will be based on informed parental choice.
	The pupil profile will provide an ongoing record of a child's educational progress, and assist parents and children in deciding which post-primary schools to apply to.
	CCEA is willing to discuss Dr. Morrison's proposals in the context of planned advice for schools on a range of possible assessment tools that could be used to support teacher assessment and to inform completion of the pupil profile.

A and E Waiting Times

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients were waiting for more than two hours on trolleys in accident and emergency departments of hospitals in Northern Ireland in each year since 1998.

Shaun Woodward: The number of hospital trolley waits waiting two hours or more is reported to the Department by trusts on a quarterly basis.
	
		Number of hospital trolley waits waiting two hours or more recorded in Northern Ireland 199899 to 200405
		
			 Financial year Trolley waits waiting more than two hours 
		
		
			 199899 3,943 
			 19992000 6,040 
			 200001 10,346 
			 200102 15,041 
			 200203 25,131 
			 200304 29,978 
			 200405 35,056 
		
	
	Note:
	In a small number of cases trusts have returned data for a representative sample of trolley waits.
	Source:
	Departmental Information Return CH10.

A20

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Road Service expects to commence construction of the A20 Frederick Street Link in Newtownards.

Shaun Woodward: The chief executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Lady in response to this question.
	Letter from Malcolm McKibbin to Mrs. Iris Robinson, dated 7 November 2005
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question regarding when the Roads Service expects to commence construction of the A20 Frederick Street Link in Newtownards.
	I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
	Roads Service anticipates that work could commence on the construction of the A20 Frederick Street Link in 2007. However, this would be subject to the satisfactory completion of statutory processes and the availability of funding at that time.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average waiting time for surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysm was in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: Information on the waiting times for surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysms is not collected centrally. However, patients presenting with this condition generally have their surgery carried out as a matter of urgency.
	If an abdominal aorta aneurysm is identified early, elective surgical repair can be carried out. Although this will be a very successful procedure for the majority of those operated upon, it is nonetheless associated with a mortality rate of 6 to 8 per cent.
	Screening for abdominal aorta aneurysms is now on the agenda of the UK National Screening Committee, which is chaired by the Department's Chief Medical Officer.

Addictions Service (Strangford)

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the addictions service offered to those in Strangford constituency.

Shaun Woodward: There is a wide range of addiction services currently offered to those in the Strangford constituency covering types of treatment such as detoxification, rehabilitation, substitute prescribing and therapeutic counselling (both adult and young people). These services are provided in peoples' homes, in health and social care facilities and in a hospital in-patient unit.

Alzheimer's

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what resources have been made available in Northern Ireland for (a) sufferers from and (b) carers who are affected by Alzheimer's disease in 200506.

Shaun Woodward: Alzheimer's is one of a number of physical and mental conditions that impact seriously upon the lives of older people and their families. In Northern Ireland, resources are allocated by programme of care for different classes of patients andcclients rather than by specific conditions. Information on resources for Alzheimer's disease is not therefore available separately. Decisions relating to the treatment and support of clients and their carers are made by health and social services boards in light of local priorities and available resources.

Ards Hospital (Psychiatry)

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many admissions to the psychiatry unit at Ards hospital in each of the last five years have been for addictions.

Shaun Woodward: There have been no admissions to the mental health inpatient unit at Ards hospital for addictions. Addictions inpatient care is provided in ward 15 in Downshire hospital, Down Lisburn Trust. If a patient is admitted to Ards who has an addictions problem it is because they have a concomitant mental health problem. A dual diagnosis worker and inpatient staff then provide treatment.

Armed Robberies

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many armed robberies have taken place in West Belfast since July.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Police Service of Northern Ireland that 21 armed robberies have taken place in the West Belfast District Command Unit between 1 July and 2 November 2005.

Avian Influenza

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals in the Province would be covered by the antiviral drugs stockpiled to counter an outbreak of avian influenza.

Shaun Woodward: The Department is stockpiling a supply of the anti-viral drug oseltamivir (or tamiflu) that will be sufficient to treat up to 438,000 people or 25 per cent. of the total population ie the predicted attack rate of a pandemic flu outbreak. This is in line with plans in the rest of the UK.

Benefit Fraud

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the level of (a) detected and (b) undetected benefit fraud in Northern Ireland in each year since 1998.

David Hanson: The information is as follows.
	Detected fraud
	The information requested is available only from April 2000. The following table shows the number of detected fraud cases for each year since April 2000 and the amount of benefit overpaid in those cases:
	
		
			   Total number Value of overpayments ( million) 
		
		
			 200001 231 0.56 
			 200102 492 1.59 
			 200203 394 1.58 
			 200304 367 1.90 
			 200405 485 3.35 
			 2005(58) 306 3.32 
		
	
	(58) To 31 October 2005
	Undetected fraud
	The estimated value of undetected benefit fraud is set out in the following table. The information requested is available only from 200001 year. The table shows the estimate of undetected fraud as a monetary value and as a percentage of benefit expenditure.
	
		Estimated value of undetected benefit fraud
		
			  Total value ( million) Value as percentage of benefit expenditure 
		
		
			 200001 46.06 1.5 
			 200102 60.45 1.9 
			 200203 32.29 1.0 
			 200304 36.62 1.2 
			 200405 23.74 0.7

Benefit Fraud

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland were convicted of benefit fraud in each year since 1998.

David Hanson: The Social Security Agency is committed to a robust approach to tackling fraud and deploys a series of sanctions against offenders:
	formal cautions;
	administrative penalties; and
	prosecution.
	Acceptance of a caution or administrative penalty is an admission by the person that benefit was claimed illegally. Information on numbers who have been through this process is available only from the 200001 financial year, as follows:
	
		
			  200001 200102 200203 200304 200405 2005-year to date 
		
		
			 Successful prosecutions 231 465 322 237 234 107 
			 Administrative penalties 10 11 49 102 168 153 
			 Formal cautions 0 16 23 28 83 46 
			 Total 241 492 394 367 485 306

Blind and Partially-sighted People

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to provide (a) enhanced social care and rehabilitation services and (b) additional resources in rehabilitation worker training and support to help blind and partially-sighted people in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety is currently engaged in a consultation process which will help highlight the steps needed to provide enhanced social care and rehabilitation services for blind and partially sighted people and determine the resources required.

Breast Cancer

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety is taking to promote breast cancer awareness among women aged (a) 18 to 25 years and (b) 65 to 75 years.

Shaun Woodward: Women in the age group 65 to 75 years of age will have had the opportunity to participate in the Department's breast screening programme (for women aged 50 to 64) and may continue, if they wish, to be screened after age 65. It is the Department's intention to extend the screening programme to all women in the age group 6570, as soon as possible.
	In March 2003, my Department's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Henrietta Campbell announced the launch of three new leaflets about breast awareness/breast screening. One of these Looking for Changes is intended for women of all ages and copies were sent to every GP and practice manager in Northern Ireland, as well as to health promotion units in all four health and social services boards. This leaflet is available in five different languages. Among other things, the leaflet encourages women to make an appointment with their GP if they become aware of any changes in their breasts. Breast cancer is rare in women aged 1825 years old.

Buckley Report

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the costs incurred in commissioning and producing Sir Michael Buckley's report regarding the University of Ulster.

Angela Smith: I am informed by the University that the estimated cost incurred in commissioning and producing Sir Michael Buckley's report regarding the University of Ulster was 8,560 excluding value added tax. This includes all payments to Sir Michael Buckley.
	The University's Council was provided with a legal opinion on the contents of the report at a cost of 900, excluding value added tax.

C8

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the process of evidence location and collation by the policing unit designated C8 has been completed; whether the collection and centralisation of located evidence has commenced; and whether the evidence will be assembled and centralised in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Great Britain.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised that part of the Historical Enquiry Team's (C8) setting up process has been to locate and catalogue all the case papers, correspondence and exhibits that remain from the period under review (between 1968 and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998). A thorough search process was required, and the method chosen by the police as the most comprehensive and least disruptive to day to day policing was to employ a team of dedicated searchers, controlled centrally by the HET. This team, comprising of agency staff on short-term contracts, commenced work in March 2005 with a remit to search every police building of the PSNI estate. The Forensic Science Agency of Northern Ireland commenced a parallel search of its own, to complement the HET undertaking.
	The search of all 29 PSNI district command units and HQ premises is due for completion by mid November 2005. It has been conducted in close collaboration with the setting up of the PSNI central storage facility, where all items will eventually be stored. The items recovered will be retained in Northern Ireland to facilitate the review process to be completed by the HET.

C8

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the staff employed in the policing unit designated C8 are (a) serving police officers and (b) former members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary; and how many are (i) members and (ii) former members of other police forces.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised that, at present, there are:
	(a) five serving police officers on the Historical Enquiry Team (C8); four from the Metropolitan police and one from Strathclyde police. These officers are the senior managers of the team and have been recruited to assist in it's design;
	(b) two retired members of the PSNI/RUC employed on a contractual basis; one senior manager to provide local knowledge and intelligence and the other, a specialist in family liaison work. Since inception, 40 former PSNI/RUC staff have also been supplied by an agency to work on the search process and provide administrative support; and
	(c) two former members of other police forces; the head of the unit is a recently retired commander from the Metropolitan police, and a retired detective superintendent from the MPS is contracted to advise on establishing a review and family liaison process.

C8

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) role and (b) task is of the policing unit designated C8; what progress has been made by this unit towards the completion of its task; and how many people are employed within this unit, broken down by rank.

Shaun Woodward: The role of the Historical Enquiry Team (C8) is to re-examine all unresolved deaths in Northern Ireland attributable to the security situation between 1968 and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
	The HET has defined its task as:
	To assist in bringing 'closure', where possible, to the families of victims of an unresolved death, during this period;
	To re-examine all deaths attributable to 'The Troubles' and ensure that all investigative and evidential opportunities are examined and exploited in a manner that satisfies the PSNI's obligation of an 'Effective Investigation' (article 2, Code of Ethics for PSNI); and
	To do so in a way that commands the confidence of the wider community.
	The HET was established in April 2005, and is due to become operational on 9 January 2006. The intervening period has seen preparatory work including refurbishing and equipping the Sprucefield PSNI site as its base; a search process to recover and catalogue case files, correspondence and exhibits; preparation of policies and protocols for conduct of reviews and re-investigations; interviewing and appointing staff and negotiating for their secondment; introducing arrangements with other agencies to gather information, evidence and trace individuals; and working with families who have come forward already. The HET has also been in consultation with many families direct, and with non-government organisations and lawyers representing families.
	At present there are 23 staff on HET daily work, including one head of unit, (senior civil servant grade), one detective superintendent, three detective chief inspectors, one detective sergeant, and 17 civilian staff providing administrative and ancillary support. A further 32 agency staff (ungraded) are employed on the search process.

Car Theft

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many car thefts there were in each district command unit in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The Police Service of Northern Ireland records theft of vehicles and unauthorised taking of vehicles as a single category. The figures are provided in the following table.
	
		Recorded theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle
		
			  200001 200102 200203 200304 200405 
		
		
			 Northern Ireland 8,563 9,005 8,410 5,369 4,456 
			   
			 Urban Region 6,252 6,579 5,981 3,486 2,908 
			 Antrim 209 228 263 188 108 
			 Ards 232 310 275 131 99 
			 East Belfast 461 474 640 267 213 
			 North Belfast 809 1,003 882 568 498 
			 South Belfast 1,717 1,837 1,472 732 646 
			 West Belfast 997 669 610 410 423 
			 Carrickfergus 86 84 118 50 42 
			 Castlereagh 243 354 284 182 143 
			 Larne 43 78 49 45 40 
			 Lisburn 942 820 757 546 415 
			 Newtownabbey 314 390 392 246 182 
			 North Down 199 332 239 121 99 
			   
			 Rural Region 2,311 2,426 2,429 1,883 1,548 
			 Armagh 128 104 128 94 79 
			 Banbridge 85 94 98 100 48 
			 Ballymena 103 129 133 120 66 
			 Ballymoney 36 32 43 27 23 
			 Coleraine 131 136 132 128 97 
			 Cookstown 60 75 60 59 50 
			 Craigavon 307 362 258 241 151 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 147 133 150 112 99 
			 Down 270 328 328 205 143 
			 Fermanagh 108 87 92 75 53 
			 Foyle 210 287 265 243 251 
			 Limavady 82 54 35 43 46 
			 Magherafelt 79 46 75 29 22 
			 Moyle 29 45 51 28 23 
			 Newry and Mourne 327 374 404 280 311 
			 Omagh 125 71 90 46 44 
			 Strabane 84 69 87 53 42

Cardiomyopathy

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many newly diagnosed cases of cardiomyopathy there were in the Province in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The number of newly diagnosed cases of cardiomyopathy in Northern Ireland is not available.
	Information is available on the number of cardiomyopathy sufferers admitted as in-patients to hospitals in Northern Ireland. The number of admissions to hospital with a primary or secondary diagnosis of cardiomyopathy is detailed in the following table for each of the last five years available. It should be noted that any individual could have been admitted to hospital more than once over the course of a year or over a number of years and would therefore be counted more than once in the table.
	
		
			  Admissions for cardiomyopathy 
		
		
			 200405 593 
			 200304 628 
			 200203 561 
			 200102 552 
			 200001 501 
		
	
	Source:
	Hospital Inpatients System DHSSPS

Carers

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to implement a pay scale for carers across Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: Carers have access to the full range of social security benefits, including carers allowance, and tax credits, depending on their individual circumstances, and to a wide range of services from their local Health and Social Services Trust, which are designed to offer practical support for their caring role. The Government are satisfied that targeting help in this way represents the best use of resources, and has no plans to introduce a pay scale for carers.

Child Support Agency

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the administration cost of the Child Support Agency in Northern Ireland has been in each of the past five years; and what the expected expenditure is in (a) 200506 and (b) 200607.

David Hanson: Administration expenditure over the past five years is as follows:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			 200001 10,256 
			 200102 11,380 
			 200203 13,500 
			 200304 15,023 
			 200405 15,046 
		
	
	Estimated expenditure for 200506 and 200607 is as follows:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			 200506 17,464 
			 200607 (59)15,817 
		
	
	(59) Based on anticipated budget allocation.

Class Statistics

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of those living in each district council area in the Province are (a) professionals and (b) skilled workers.

Angela Smith: The following table contains estimates from the 2003 Labour Force Survey local area database showing the percentage of all persons in employment in each district council area that are classified as being in professional and skilled trade occupations.
	
		Percentage of all persons in employment classified as being in professional or skilled trade occupations
		
			 District council area Professional occupations Skilled trade occupations 
		
		
			 Antrim (60)10 (60)18 
			 Ards (60)13 19 
			 Armagh (60)10 (60)14 
			 Ballymena (60)6 21 
			 Ballymoney (60)6 (60)25 
			 Banbridge (60)7 (60)19 
			 Belfast 14 9 
			 Carrickfergus (60)10 (60)13 
			 Castlereagh (60)12 (60)9 
			 Coleraine (60)9 (60)19 
			 Cookstown (61) (60)23 
			 Craigavon (60)10 (60)17 
			 Derry (60)14 (60)12 
			 Down (60)13 21 
			 Dungannon (60)13 (60)25 
			 Fermanagh (60)4 28 
			 Larne (60)9 (60)14 
			 Limavady (61) (60)30 
			 Lisburn (60)12 15 
			 Magherafelt (60)12 (60)26 
			 Moyle (60)14 (60)21 
			 Newry and Mourne (60)7 23 
			 Newtownabbey 15 (60)11 
			 North Down (60)12 (60)12 
			 Omagh (60)18 31 
			 Strabane (61) 20 
			 Northern Ireland 11 (60)17 
		
	
	(60) Estimates are based on small sample sizes and are therefore subject to a higher than usual degree of sampling variability. They should therefore be treated with caution.
	(61) Estimates are not shown as they are potentially disclosive.
	Source:
	Labour Force Survey, Local Area Database 2003.

Clinical Negligence

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the likely costs resulting from clinical negligence in the Province in each of the next five years.

Shaun Woodward: The cost to the Health and Personal Social Services budget is the net impact of the provision being established for new clinical negligence cases, reduced by the settlement of existing cases. This is estimated at 11 million in each of the three years from 200506 to 200708. No estimates have yet been made beyond 200708.

Clinical Negligence

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many clinical negligence cases are pending within each health trust in the Province.

Shaun Woodward: The information is not available in the form requested and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Compensation Agency

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of cases have been considered by the Compensation Agency in Northern Ireland for more than two years before a decision was arrived at.

Peter Hain: The Compensation Agency's electronic database was introduced in 1988. It has only been possible to retrieve information relating to claims which have been captured on that database. Claims which were in existence prior to this were kept on paper records and files which have subsequently been destroyed through routine destruction procedures.
	Analysis of the database shows that the Compensation Agency has made decisions on 309,533 claims since 1988. Of these, 40,336 or 13 per cent. were made after two years.

Conviction Rates

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the conviction rate for (a) common assault, (b) breach of peace and (c) drunkenness in each of the last five years broken down by district command unit.

David Hanson: The following tables relate to the years 200003 and detail the number of persons prosecuted and convicted at court. The tables are based on the police district command unit in which the offender's address falls. Where numbers are small conviction rates for each DCU are not calculated but the number of prosecutions and convictions are presented, along with the overall conviction rates for each year. Due to changes in the way data is collected figures for 1999 are not directly comparable but table four shows Northern Ireland level prosecutions and convictions for that year, for the three offence categories in question. It should be noted that many offences of common assault, breach of peace and drunkenness may be brought to justice via a police caution rather than via a court prosecution.
	
		Table 1: Number of convictions and conviction rates for common assault offences by police district command unit 200003(62)
		
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 
			 DCU(63) Number Rate(64) (percentage) Number Rate (64) (percentage) Number Rate(64) (percentage) Number Rate(64)(percentage) 
		
		
			 Antrim 27 71 15 60 19 66 10 67 
			 Ards 18 86 31 69 32 80 28 82 
			 Armagh 12 67 7 100 3 18 8 47 
			 Banbridge 13 68 15 79 8 50 15 54 
			 Belfast East 21 78 26 84 16 84 17 68 
			 Belfast North 31 74 29 67 24 63 24 62 
			 Belfast South 14 82 26 74 14 64 19 83 
			 Belfast West 23 79 17 55 13 54 20 69 
			 Ballymena 23 85 21 88 9 56 21 84 
			 Ballymoney 5 38 4 40 4 50 6 67 
			 Carrickfergus 9 69 5 71 8 57 5 63 
			 Coleraine 23 64 31 66 23 74 17 68 
			 Cookstown 11 65 8 67 9 56 3 20 
			 Craigavon 33 77 29 83 19 53 24 69 
			 Castlereagh 15 71 10 71 9 60 10 48 
			 Dungannon 15 51 12 57 10 67 9 60 
			 Down 19 59 24 71 24 77 24 69 
			 Fermanagh 12 60 18 75 20 74 18 62 
			 Foyle 39 67 33 60 33 69 28 78 
			 Larne 16 76 13 72 18 75 11 61 
			 Limavady 31 84 10 77 23 74 18 86 
			 Lisburn 29 74 32 71 18 72 19 70 
			 Magherafelt 13 65 14 78 8 53 8 47 
			 Moyle 6 60 5 63 2 40 4 57 
			 Newtownabbey 16 67 27 64 8 53 5 50 
			 North Down 21 81 24 67 20 74 20 80 
			 Newry and Mourne 20 57 16 50 18 62 10 43 
			 Omagh 23 79 17 68 23 68 16 59 
			 Strabane 16 73 15 71 27 87 12 100 
			 Missing 9  5  8  3  
			 Total 563 70 539 68 470 67 432 66 
		
	
	(62) Common assault offences include: common assault, common assault on adult, and common assault on a child/ young person.
	(63) Data are based on the police district command unit in which an offender's address falls. Police district command units became operational in April 2001. However, for the purposes of comparability, calendar year 2000 data are also disaggregated by DCU, rather than police division. Missing data relate to those offenders for which DCU information is not available.
	(64) The conviction rate is based on the number of persons found guilty out of those brought to court for the offence. Caution is recommended when interpreting rates, due to small numbers in some categories.
	
		Table 2: Number of prosecutions and convictions for breach of peace offences by police district command unit 200003(65)(5508300066)
		
			  2000 2001 
			 DCU(67) Prosecuted Convicted Prosecuted Convicted 
		
		
			 Antrim 4 4 1 1 
			 Ards 1 1 1 1 
			 Armagh 0 0 2 2 
			 Banbridge 4 4 4 4 
			 Belfast East 4 3 3 3 
			 Belfast North 12 10 11 4 
			 Belfast South 3 3 2 2 
			 Belfast West 11 10 3 3 
			 Ballymena 13 8 2 2 
			 Ballymoney 2 1 0 0 
			 Carrickfergus 1 1 0 0 
			 Coleraine 0 0 5 4 
			 Cookstown 0 0 I 0 
			 Craigavon 7 5 2 2 
			 Castlereagh 1 1 2 1 
			 Dungannon 6 1 1 2 
			 Down 0 0 0 0 
			 Fermanagh 4 1 2 0 
			 Foyle 20 9 14 12 
			 Larne 3 3 3 3 
			 Limavady 6 1 4 4 
			 Lisburn 2 1 6 3 
			 Magherafelt 4 3 3 3 
			 Moyle 0 0 0 0 
			 Newtownabbey 4 3 3 0 
			 Nortli Down 4 4 0 0 
			 Newry and Mourne 9 4 2 1 
			 Omagh 3 1 0 0 
			 Strabane 1 1 7 5 
			 Missing 4  0 0 
			 Total 133 85 (64%) 90 62 (69%) 
		
	
	
		
			  2002 2003 
			 DCU(67) Prosecuted Convicted Prosecuted Convicted 
		
		
			 Antrim 0 0 3 3 
			 Ards 1 0 0 0 
			 Armagh 0 0 0 0 
			 Banbridge 0 0 3 0 
			 Belfast East 2 1 0 0 
			 Belfast North 9 7 8 6 
			 Belfast South 1 0 1 1 
			 Belfast West 2 2 4 3 
			 Ballymena 21 1 8 8 
			 Ballymoney 6 1 1 1 
			 Carrickfergus 0 0 3 3 
			 Coleraine 5 4 2 1 
			 Cookstown 0 0 2 0 
			 Craigavon 1 1 3 3 
			 Castlereagh 0 0 0 0 
			 Dungannon 3 1 2 0 
			 Down 0 0 0 0 
			 Fermanagh 3 2 0 0 
			 Foyle 12 7 12 10 
			 Larne 9 3 1 1 
			 Limavady 2 1 0 0 
			 Lisburn 1 1 1 1 
			 Magherafelt 1 1 2 0 
			 Moyle 0 0 1 1 
			 Newtownabbey 1 1 0 0 
			 Nortli Down 1 0 1 1 
			 Newry and Mourne 4 1 0 0 
			 Omagh 3 2 0 0 
			 Strabane 1 0 2 2 
			 Missing 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 89 37 (42%) 60 45 (75%) 
		
	
	(65) Breach of the peace offences include behaviour likely to cause breach of the peace, and behaviour likely to cause breach of peace on licensed premises.
	(66) Due to the very small numbers in most cells, a conviction rate (based on the number of persons found guilty out of those brought to court for the offence) has not been calculated for each DCU; however, an overall conviction rate is shown for each calendar year.
	(67) Data are based on the police district command unit in which an offender's address falls. Police district command units became operational in April 2001. However, for the purposes of comparability, calendar year 2000 data are also disaggregated by DCU, rather than police division. Missing data relate to those offenders for which DCU information is not available.
	
		Table 3: Number of prosecutions and convictions for drunkenness of fences by police district command unit 20002003(68)(5508300069)
		
			  2000 2001 
			 DCU(70) Prosecuted Convicted Prosecuted Convicted 
		
		
			 Antrim 0 0 1 0 
			 Ards 12 12 9 8 
			 Armagh 1 1 1 1 
			 Banbridge 0 0 3 3 
			 Belfast East 4 4 2 2 
			 Belfast North 8 8 7 5 
			 Belfast South 5 5 7 6 
			 Belfast West 4 2 3 2 
			 Ballymena 2 2 9 8 
			 Ballymoney 4 3 0 0 
			 Carrickfergus 0 0 0 0 
			 Coleraine 6 5 1 1 
			 Cookstown 1 1 2 1 
			 Craigavon 2 2 1 1 
			 Castlereagh 1 1 0 0 
			 Dungannon 0 0 3 2 
			 Down 5 5 1 1 
			 Fermanagh 7 7 4 4 
			 Foyle 7 6 1 1 
			 Lame 1 1 0 0 
			 Limavady 2 2 0 0 
			 Lisburn 1 0 0 0 
			 Magherafelt 1 0 2 2 
			 Moyle 2 2 1 1 
			 Newtownabbey 2 2 1 1 
			 North Down 1 1 3 3 
			 Newry and Mourne 1 1 4 4 
			 Omagh 0 0 2 2 
			 Strabane 4 4 3 2 
			 Missing 1 1 3 3 
			 Total 85 78 (92%) 74 64 (86%) 
		
	
	
		
			  2002 2003 
			 DCU(70) Prosecuted Convicted Prosecuted Convicted 
		
		
			 Antrim 0 0 1 0 
			 Ards 1 1 1 1 
			 Armagh 0 0 1 1 
			 Banbridge 2 1 0 0 
			 Belfast East 0 0 0 0 
			 Belfast North 6 5 2 2 
			 Belfast South 0 0 3 3 
			 Belfast West 0 0 1 1 
			 Ballymena 3 3 4 4 
			 Ballymoney 1 1 0 0 
			 Carrickfergus 0 0 0 0 
			 Coleraine 4 4 1 1 
			 Cookstown 0 0 2 1 
			 Craigavon 0 0 0 0 
			 Castlereagh 1 1 2 1 
			 Dungannon 0 0 2 2 
			 Down 0 0 2 2 
			 Fermanagh 2 2 1 1 
			 Foyle 4 2 0 0 
			 Lame 0 0 0 0 
			 Limavady 1 1 0 0 
			 Lisburn 0 0 2 2 
			 Magherafelt 0 0 0 0 
			 Moyle 0 0 0 0 
			 Newtownabbey 1 1 0 0 
			 North Down 1 1 1 0 
			 Newry and Mourne 1 1 3 3 
			 Omagh 9 7 6 4 
			 Strabane 2 1 0 0 
			 Missing 2 2 1 1 
			 Total 41 34 (83%) 36 30 (83%) 
		
	
	(68) Drunkenness offences include simple drunk, drunk and disorderly, drunk in charge of animal, entering an aircraft when drunk, being drunk when in aircraft, drunk in charge of child, being drunk in licensed premises. Offences relating to drink under road traffic legislation are excluded.
	(69) Due to the very small numbers in most cells, a conviction rate (based on the number of persons found guilty out of those brought to court for the offence) has not been calculated for each DCU; however, an overall conviction rate is shown for each calendar year.
	(70) Data are based on the police district command unit in which an offender's address falls. Police district command units became operational in April 2001. However, for the purposes of comparability, calendar year 2000 data are also disaggregated by DCU, rather than police division. Missing data relate to those offenders for which DCU information is not available.
	
		Table 4: Number of prosecutions, convictions and conviction rates for common assault, breach of peace and drunkenness offences1999
		
			 Offence Prosecutions Convictions Conviction rate(74) (percentage) 
		
		
			 Common assaults(71) 1,086 814 75 
			 Breach of peace(72) 205 157 77 
			 Drunkenness(73) 165 141 85 
		
	
	(71) Common assault offences include: common assault, common assault on adult, and common assault on a child/young person.
	(72) Breach of the peace offences include behaviour likely to cause breach of the peace, and behaviour likely to cause breach of peace on licensed premises.
	(73) Drunkenness offences include simple drunk, drunk and disorderly, drunk in charge of animal, entering an aircraft when drunk, being drunk when in aircraft, drunk in charge of child, being drunk in licensed premises. Offences relating to drink under road traffic legislation are excluded.
	(74) The conviction rate is based on the number of persons found guilty out of those brought to court for the offence.

Cultural Events (Funding)

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding his Department has provided for (a) Ulster Scots and (b) Irish cultural (i) groups, (ii) events and (iii) projects in each of the last three years in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) jointly funds the Ulster-Scots Agency and Foras na Gaeilge, the Irish Language Agency. The Ulster-Scots Agency has a statutory remit to promote Ulster-Scots language and culture. Foras na Gaeilge has a statutory remit to promote the Irish language.
	The amounts allocated to the Ulster-Scots Agency and Foras na Gaeilge by DCAL in 2002, 2003 and 2004, which were given to cultural groups, events and projects in Northern Ireland are detailed in the table.
	
		STG
		
			  Foras na Gaeilge (Irish Language Agency) () Tha Boord o Ulster-Scotch (Ulster-Scots Agency) () 
		
		
			 2002(75) 2,862,644 509,208 
			 2003(75) 2,514,262 734,769 
			 2004(75) 2,039,322 962,934 
		
	
	Funding is also available from departmental mainstream programmes for projects which may have an Irish or Ulster-Scots language or culture dimension, which cannot be separated from the primary funding objectives.

Departmental Finance/Genetic Testing

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding has been allocated to the Department for Health, Social Services and Public Safety Research and Development Fund in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement on access to genetic testing for individuals in the Province.

Shaun Woodward: The amount of funding allocated to the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety Research and Development Fund in each of the last five financial years was as follows:
	
		000
		
			  Allocation 
		
		
			 200001 8,765 
			 200102 8,621 
			 200203 8,640 
			 200304 10,582 
			 200405 11,247 
		
	
	The HPSS Research and Development Office have no dealings nor have funded genetic testing for individuals in the Province in the last five years.

Departmental Funding

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding he expects to be allocated to the Department for Health, Social Services and Public Safety Research and Development Fund in (a) 200607 and (b) 200708.

Shaun Woodward: No decision has as yet been made with regard to the future funding of Research and Development within the HPSS for 200607 and 200708. A formal consultation process is currently under way in relation to the recently published Draft Priorities and Budget for Northern Ireland. Final decisions on spending allocations will be made following the end of this consultation period, which closes on 5 December 2005.

Departmental Skills Development Plan

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which individual is responsible for developing and implementing his Department's Skills Development Plan.

David Hanson: The Director of Resources is the individual responsible for developing and implementing the Department's Skills Development Plan.

Departmental Skills Development Plan

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's skills development plan.

David Hanson: I have arranged for a copy of the Northern Ireland office skills development plan to be placed in the Library.

Disability Services

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding has been allocated to learning disability services in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Shaun Woodward: Expenditure on learning disability services in each of the last ten years is as follows:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			 199596 58 
			 199697 77 
			 199798 83 
			 199899 89 
			 19992000 94 
			 200001 100 
			 200102 115 
			 200203 136 
			 200304 152 
		
	
	Information for 200405 is not yet available.

Doctors' Training

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average expenditure on the training of (a) a general practitioner registrar and (b) a doctor in the year after completing their general practitioner registrar year was in the Province in 200405.

Shaun Woodward: The average expenditure on the training of a general practitioner registrar in the year 200405 was 77,866 and average expenditure for a doctor in the year after completing their general practitioner registrar year was 911.

Doctors' Training

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many doctors have completed general practitioner training in the Province in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The total number of doctors who have completed general practice training in the Province in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2005 47 
			 2004 46 
			 2003 41 
			 2002 36 
			 2001 34

Domestic Violence

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many domestic violence incidents (a) were reported in each constituency and (b) led to prosecution through the court system in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The PSNI are the sole source of reliable information about domestic violence as they capture recorded crimes with a domestic motivation. The information is therefore only available across PSNI District Command Units and is set out in the table for the year 200405.
	It is believed however that these figures do not reflect the true level of domestic violence in Northern Ireland. In the Northern Ireland Crime Survey 200304, 19 per cent. of female respondents claimed they had been the victims of domestic violence at some time in their lives, while 11 per cent. of male respondents made a similar claim.
	
		
			 Area Total offences recorded 
		
		
			 Antrim 235 
			 Ards 345 
			 Armagh 166 
			 Ballymena 311 
			 Ballymoney 122 
			 Banbridge 200 
			 East Belfast 397 
			 North Belfast 630 
			 South Belfast 325 
			 West Belfast 522 
			 Carrickfergus 152 
			 Castlereagh 187 
			 Coleraine 309 
			 Cookstown 196 
			 Craigavon 556 
			 Down 147 
			 Dungannon/South Tyrone 122 
			 Fermanagh 151 
			 Foyle 651 
			 Larne 111 
			 Limivady 204 
			 Lisburn 819 
			 Magherafelt 99 
			 Moyle 52 
			 Newry and Mourne 268 
			 Newtownabbey 395 
			 North Down 294 
			 Omagh 219 
			 Strabane 323 
			 Total 8,508 
		
	
	In relation to (b) figures relating to domestic violence incidents that led to prosecution through the court system are not available. Domestic violence is not a category against which crime is recorded and therefore it is not possible to directly attribute offences to the cases outlined above.

Education Action Zones

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  if he will publish the education action zone proposals of each education and library board in Northern Ireland;
	(2)  what funding has been allocated to each education action zone in Northern Ireland;
	(3)  what progress education and library boards have made in seeking and securing inter-agency support for education action zones.
	(4)  what the start date is for education action zones in each education and library board area in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The purpose of education action zones (EAZs) was to help schools in specific designated areas become a community resource providing facilities, services and support both in and beyond education. Some 2 million per annum was allocated for EAZs but to date only modest funding has been provided to Education and Library Boards to assist them in developing proposals. Inter-agency support was a requirement for EAZ funding and was included in all of the proposals received. No start dates had yet been determined for EAZs. As the hon. Member will have seen from the draft Budget 2005, we are now proposing to extend these benefits to schools right across Northern Ireland, targeted initially at schools in disadvantaged areas, through the new investment in extended schools, as part of the Children's and Young People's package. We propose to roll education action zones, into this wider initiative. The Budget proposals are, however, still at draft stage, and views on them are welcome.

Education and Library Boards

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations the Department of Education for Northern Ireland has received regarding accounting procedures at the (a) Belfast Education and Library Board and (b) South Eastern Education and Library Board.

Angela Smith: Accounting and accountability issues are a central item for discussion at the regular accountability reviews held between the Department and each Board. Board members have expressed concern regarding complexities in operating resource accounting, although all public bodies have for some years, been required to account for the public expenditure allocated to them in line with government accounting procedures and the principles and practice of resource accounting.
	The report from the Statutory Inquiry into Financial Management and Control in the Belfast and South Eastern Education and Library Boards pointed to the importance of Board members understanding the financial context in which the Boards operate and probing and challenging officers on issues relating to finance and accountability. As part of the process of enabling Board members to fulfil this role, my Department is providing additional training and support to all Board members to complement existing internal induction arrangements and ensure that all Board members understand standards of public accounting and accountability.

Education and Library Boards

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cumulative deficit is for each education and library board; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The cumulative deficit for each education and library board at 31 March 2005 is as follows:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			 Belfast 10.7 
			 North Eastern (75) 
			 South Eastern 20.5 
			 Southern (75) 
			 Western (75) 
		
	
	(75) None.
	In common with all public bodies, the five education and library boards are required to live within the allocations voted by Parliament. I have been assured that this will be the case in 200506. Plans are also in place to ensure that the two boards in deficit repay the amounts they overspend in previous years.

Energy Efficient Lightbulbs

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the number of households that have at least one energy efficient light bulb from an energy efficiency advice centre in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: Energy efficiency advice centres, now known as the energy saving trust advice centre, distribute energy efficiency light bulbs, provided by Northern Ireland Electricity, at a rate of one per household, largely through promotional events and energy saving road shows. Information on the number distributed in this way since 200304 is as follows:
	
		
			  Number of light bulbs distributed 
		
		
			 200304 11,170 
			 200405 35,600 
			 200506 (76)28,000 
		
	
	(76) Some of these have yet to be distributed.

Eye Health

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on current research he has funded into retinitis pigmentosa.

Shaun Woodward: There are a total of three research projects currently being sponsored by the DHSS and PS R and D Office on retinitis pigmentosa. These are listed in the following table along with the start dates and a calculated budget figure for the work.
	
		
			 Research title (short version) Start date Budget() 
		
		
			 Studentship 2002The identification and characterisation of novel ion channels within the retina 1 October 2002 48,439 
			
			 Fellowship 2004The relationship between measurements of retinal thickness using optical coherence tomography and retinal function using multifocal electroretinography in patients with myopia and retinal disorders. 13 September 2004 156,145 
			
			 RRG 11.13 The application of systematic proteomics to characterise the neuroretina and the inherent subsistence factors that maintain its integrity 1 May 2002 170,292 
		
	
	The total amount spent on these projects is 374,876. Summaries of each project are available if required.

Fair Employment

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will meet the Equality Commission to discuss the implications of the maps presented in chapter six of the Commission's publication, Fair Employment in Northern Ireland A Generation On.

Angela Smith: I am aware of the research published by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland in Fair Employment: A Generation On. I have asked officials to consider the implications of the maps in chapter six of this publication, to discuss this with the Equality Commission and to keep Ministers advised as necessary.

Fireworks

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many permits have been issued to the public for use of fireworks in each of the last three years.

Shaun Woodward: The number of applications made in each of the last three years is as follows.
	
		
			  Number of applications 
		
		
			 2002 999 
			 2003 1,257 
			 2004 889

Government Projects

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the projects being undertaken by the Department for Health, Social Services and Public Safety Research and Development Office.

Shaun Woodward: There are a total of 248 active/successful projects currently being undertaken by the RD Office. A table listing these, along with the start dates and a calculated budget figure for the work has been placed in the Library.

Grammar Schools

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) voluntary and (b) state-controlled grammar schools there are in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: There are currently 52 voluntary grammar schools and 17 state-controlled grammar schools in Northern Ireland.

Health Scans

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average waiting time for (a) emergency and (b) routine ultrasound scans was in each health trust in the Province in 200405.

Shaun Woodward: Information on waiting times for ultrasound scans is not collected centrally

Health Scans

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients are awaiting an ultrasound scan in the Province.

Shaun Woodward: Information on waiting times for ultrasound scans is not collected centrally.

Hospital Readmissions

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of patients discharged from hospitals in the Province were readmitted within two months in the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The information requested is not available. It is not possible to identify the number of individuals readmitted to Northern Ireland hospitals.

Hospital Travel Cost Scheme

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the qualifying criteria are for patients wishing to access the hospital travel cost scheme (HTCS); what financial provision is available under the scheme; and what the level of uptake of the HTCS has been in each of the four health board areas in each of the past three years.

Shaun Woodward: Information on entitlement to hospital travel costs is contained in part 2 of the Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004, which are available on the website www.opsi.gov.uk.
	The financial provision available under the scheme is governed by the regulations, which state:
	(5) The amount of any HS travel expenses to which a person is entitled under these Regulations
	(a) must be calculated by reference to the cost of travelling by the cheapest means of transport which is reasonable having regard to the person's age, medical condition and any other relevant circumstances; and
	(b) where travel is by private car, may include a mileage allowance and car parking expenses.
	The level of uptake in monetary terms is included in the following table. It should be noted that the figures for 200203 are incomplete.
	
		
		
			  200203(77) 200304 200405 
		
		
			 NHSSB 81,219.00 89,508.00 88,128.00 
			 SHSSB 55,285.60 59,965.98 60,291.78 
			 EHSSB 349,539.02 554,004.54 626,648.07 
			 WHSSB 173,625.00 196,313.00 207,368.00 
			 Total (77)659,668.62 899,791.52 982,435.85 
		
	
	(77) Due to a change in computer systems Foyle, Newry and Mourne, Homefirst, South and East Belfast, the Royal Group of Hospitals and Down Lisburn Trusts were not able to provide figures for the year 200203.

Hospital-acquired Infections

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many infections were acquired (a) in hospitals and (b) elsewhere within the health service in the Province in each of the last 10 years.

Shaun Woodward: The information is not available in the format requested. Current surveillance cannot differentiate between infections that were acquired in hospitals or those that were acquired elsewhere.

Housing Associations

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what the average length of time taken to process planning applications for housing associations in Northern Ireland was in each year since 2001;
	(2)  how many applications for planning have been made by housing associations in Northern Ireland in each year since 1999; what the average approval time was; what the average validation time was; and what the annual percentage change in planning fees was.

Angela Smith: The information requested is included in the following tables.
	
		Table 1: Number of planning applications from housing associations between 2000 and 2005 with average processing and validation times.
		
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Number of applications 97 85 81 80 110 81 
			 Average processing times in weeks 23.3 22.7 28.8 28 27.4 29.1 
			 Average processing times to approval in weeks 23.3 22.7 28.8 27.2 27.1 27.7 
			 Average validation times in weeks 2.2 3 2.5 2 3.4 2.7 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. It is only possible to provide accurate data for the last five years, as all the information for 1999 is not held electronically by the planning service. It would be possible to extract the information for 1999 but at a disproportionate cost as it would involve a manual examination of approximately 22,182 files.
	2. It should be noted that it is not always explicit that an application is on behalf of a housing association as applications may be submitted by an agent without reference to the association on the application forms.
	
		Table 2: Percentage increase in planning fees between 1999 and 2005 -- Percentage
		
			  Increase in planning fees 
		
		
			 1999 0 
			 2000 0 
			 2001 3 
			 2002 0 
			 2003 14 
			 2004 10 
			 2005 12

Knockmore Link Road

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Roads Service plans to proceed with the proposed new Knockmore Link Road in Lisburn.

Shaun Woodward: The chief executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
	Letter from Malcolm McKibbin to Mr. Jeffrey M. Donaldson, dated 7 November 2005
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question regarding what plans Roads Service has to proceed with the proposed new Knockmore Link Road in Lisburn. I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
	Roads Service has identified the Knockmore Link scheme within the Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan 2015, which was published in November 2004. The scheme, which would provide access to the West Lisburn site as a major employment location, is also included in the Draft Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015 (BMAP).
	Roads Service has no current proposals for the implementation of this scheme and therefore it has not been included in any forward planning programmes. This non-strategic road scheme will be subject to the Area Plan Inquiry which is scheduled for 2006. As stated in the Draft BMAP 2015, developers will be responsible for either full or substantial part funding for the scheme. Therefore, delivery of the scheme will be dependent on developer proposals following the outcome of the Area Plan Inquiry.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Lagan Valley Hospital

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Department of Health, social services and public safety has to provide capital funding for improvement works at Lagan Valley hospital.

Shaun Woodward: The Department received a business case from Down Lisburn Trust dated 9 June for the re-development of Lagan Valley site at an estimated capital cost of 62 million. The Department has since been working with the Trust to develop these plans. In the meantime the Department has recently approved 350,000 capital funding for the upgrading of sterile services at the hospital and is considering further interim proposals which include additional theatre accommodation.

Departmental Staff (Literacy and Numeracy)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to promote uptake of the national tests in adult literacy and numeracy among employees of his Department.

David Hanson: The Knowledge 'skills for life' programme is a key part of the Northern Ireland Office learning programme. It forms a part of a 'ladder for development' to Modern Apprenticeships and all other training development opportunities offered by the Department. The programme is open to all NIO staff, although it is not expected that those currently holding a GCSE in English and/or maths would typically require this type of support. The programme is promoted during the Induction programme and by means of information flyers. Literacy and numeracy training is also embedded in the Department's general course training programme.

Departmental Staff (Literacy and Numeracy)

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many employees in his Department requested training to improve their (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills in each year since 2002.

David Hanson: Since 2002, one member of staff in the Northern Ireland Office has requested training to improve their literacy skills. The applicant was interviewed to assess their training requirement and an appropriate course was identified with a local College. On-going support is being provided to the student throughout the duration of the course. No one has sought assistance with numeracy skills although basic figure work would be included as part of the Department's financial training courses.

Manufacturing Employment

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were employed in the manufacturing sector in each parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: Estimates of the number of employee jobs below Northern Ireland level are only available from the Census of Employment on a biennial basis and the most up-to-date figures relate to September 2003. The estimates of employee jobs in the manufacturing sector for the period September 1995 to September 2003 for each parliamentary constituency area within Northern Ireland can be found in Table 1.
	
		Table 1: Number of employee jobs in the manufacturing sector at September 1995, September 1997, September 1999, September 2001 and September 2003 for each parliamentary constituency area
		
			 Parliamentary constituency area September 1995 September 1997 September 1999 September 2001 September 2003 
		
		
			 Belfast East 10,259 9,689 9,506 9,537 7,600 
			 Belfast North 5,209 5,228 4,617 4,377 3,712 
			 Belfast South 3,556 3,279 2,767 2,819 2,557 
			 Belfast West 2,085 2,546 2,785 2,801 2,466 
			 East Antrim 4,690 5,085 4,925 4,883 3,646 
			 East Londonderry 5,446 5,748 5,964 5,276 4,905 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 6,424 7,304 7,541 7,103 7,083 
			 Foyle 8,703 9,015 7,987 6,640 5,765 
			 Lagan Valley 5,755 6,040 6,488 7,322 6,664 
			 Mid-Ulster 5,299 5,682 6,052 6,418 6,876 
			 Newry and Armagh 3,853 4,163 4,075 3,958 4,041 
			 North Antrim 7,699 8,151 8,160 7,201 7,205 
			 North Down 2,872 3,073 2,809 2,399 1,995 
			 South Antrim 6,259 6,706 6,591 6,505 6,218 
			 South Down 3,246 3,496 3,551 3,268 3,408 
			 Strangford 5,343 5,243 4,916 4,624 4,200 
			 Upper Bann 12,604 12,583 12,193 10,494 9,490 
			 West Tyrone 4,666 4,893 4,883 4,561 4,053 
			 Northern Ireland 103,968 107,924 105,810 100,186 91,884 
		
	
	Source:
	Census of Employment, DETI

Medical Negligence

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been paid out due to medical negligence in each health board in each of the last 10 years.

Shaun Woodward: Amounts paid in settlement of clinical negligence claims in relation to the previous four years is detailed in the following table:
	
		000
		
			  200102 200203 200304 200405 
		
		
			 EHSSB 2,527 3,845 6,395 3,266 
			 NHSSB 1,775 5,633 1,026 3,590 
			 SHSSB 629 962 5,638 3,845 
			 WHSSB 2,484 3,112 2,135 1,020 
			 Total 7,415 13,552 15,194 11,721 
		
	
	The information relating to the previous six years is not readily available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The amount paid in any one year in respect of clinical negligence can vary considerably due to the uncertain timing of the settlement of cases.

Mobile Classrooms

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many schools in each education board in Northern Ireland make use of temporary mobile classroom accommodation; and what the timetable is for the replacement of this accommodation in each board.

Angela Smith: The number of schools using temporary accommodation was 694 at 31 March 2005. The following table details the number of schools by board area.
	
		
			  Board area Number of schools with temporary classrooms 
		
		
			 Belfast 58 
			 Western 154 
			 North Eastern 165 
			 South Eastern 121 
			 Southern 196 
			 Total 694 
		
	
	Temporary classrooms are removed through a combination of major capital schemes and the Strategic Investment Programme (formerly Reinvestment and Reform initiative) which provides funding specifically to remove temporary classrooms. As a result of the increase in capital funding for major works in recent years around 700 temporary classrooms will be removed from 80 schools as these schemes come to fruition over the next few years. The programme of capital investment is planned to continue over the coming years and it is expected that this will remove further temporary classrooms from the estate. There is no timetable for the removal of all temporary accommodation as temporary classrooms can provide an appropriate solution to meet immediate accommodation needs.

Multiple Sclerosis

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the impact of prescription price reductions for multiple sclerosis disease modifying treatments (DMTs) since 2002; what change there has been in (a) the cost per person in each year, (b) the numbers of multiple sclerosis patients receiving DMTs in each board area in each year, (c) the waiting lists and waiting times for DMTs in each board area in each year and (d) the expenditure by each board on DMTs in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) Since 2002, disease modifying therapies for people with multiple sclerosis have been provided under a UK-wide risk sharing scheme agreed between the UK health departments and the product manufacturers. Costs vary according to which drug a patient is prescribed. The cost per patient per year of the drugs being supplied to the health service for the purposes of the scheme are:
	
		
		
			  Cost per patient per year 
		
		
			 Avonex 8,502 
			 Betaferon 7,259 
			 Copaxone 5,823 
			 Rebif  
			 Lower dose 7,513 
			 Higher dose 8,942 
		
	
	These costs have remained unchanged since 2002.
	(b) The number of patients receiving disease modifying treatments in each board area in each year for which information is available is shown in the following. These figures include patients on break from treatment.
	
		
			  30 April 2003(78) 30 April 2004(78) 30 April 2005 30 September 2005 
		
		
			 Eastern 171 200 220 219 
			 Northern 123 159 176 179 
			 Southern 72 100 104 103 
			 Western 76 74 73 75 
			 Total 442 533 573 576 
		
	
	(78) Information on DMTs was not collected by the Department on a regular basis prior to May 2004; these earlier figures have been provided by Royal Group of Hospitals Trust.
	(c) Information on the number of patients waiting for treatment in each board area in each year for which information is available is shown in the following table. Comparable information on waiting lists for disease modifying treatment was not collected on a regular basis prior to September 2004.
	
		
			  30 September 2004 31 March 2005 30 September 2005 
		
		
			 Eastern 10 30 56 
			 Northern 33 34 56 
			 Southern 11 7 16 
			 Western 16 16 19 
			 Total 70 87 147 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Patients currently suspended from the waiting list are excluded from these figures.
	2. Information is not available on waiting times.
	(d) The boards have advised that expenditure on DMTs in each year was as shown in the following table.
	
		
		
			  Eastern Northern Southern Western(79) 
		
		
			 200203 1,435,745 993,850 558,862 438,132 
			 200304 1,544,745 1,150,891 714,420 439,930 
			 200405 1,637,315 1,267,089 796,111 565,149 
		
	
	(79) Excludes healthcare at home costs
	The Department will continue to seek to improve access to specialist medicines, which offer the potential for significant improvement in patient care. This year, an estimated 4.7 million will be spent on providing disease-modifying therapies for people with multiple sclerosis.

NHS Complaints

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints have been made against each health trust in the Province in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  200001 200102 200203 200304 200405 
		
		
			 Newry and Mourne 118 158 112 141 150 
			 N. and W. Belfast 156 130 150 110 143 
			 Homefirst 88 148 185 286 327 
			 Belfast City Hospital 196 163 110 195 153 
			 Down Lisburn 303 274 289 282 299 
			 Royal Group 590 657 490 415 623 
			 Causeway 305 420 506 455 456 
			 Craigavon Area Group 210 225 193 168 220 
			 Armagh and Dungannon 103 86 85 77 69 
			 S. and E. Belfast 250 205 270 284 252 
			 Ulster Comm. and Hospital 515 400 360 382 294 
			 Altnagelvin Hospitals 173 234 200 229 213 
			 Foyle 54 70 55 78 71 
			 Sperrin Lakeland 93 82 96 54 64 
			 Mater 113 119 136 92 98 
			 Greenpark 281 188 132 144 203 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge 97 106 82 90 128 
			 United Hospitals 243 191 262 275 310 
			 NIAS 148 168 157 181 144 
			 Total 4036 4024 3870 3938 4217

NHS Outsourcing

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost to each health board in Northern Ireland of contracting procedures out to the private sector has been in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The cost of procedures purchased by each health board from the private sector in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		Cost ()
		
			 Board 200001 200102 200203 200304 200405 
		
		
			 EHSSB 410,000 1,344,000 2,056,000 1,428,000 1,790,000 
			 NHSSB (80)n/a 751,765 1,541,423 3,102,800 2,529,301 
			 SHSSB 398,648 429,000 891,784 1,779,502 917,906 
			 WHSSB 780,000 (81)1,513,000 2,106,000 4,324,000 3,807,000 
			 Total 1,588,648 4,037,765 6,595,207 10,634,302 9,044,207 
		
	
	(80) Figures for Northern Board are not available for 200001
	(81) figure includes MRJ scans
	The information provided in the table relates to transfers to and from a number of different hospitals over the five years.

NHS Sickness Absence

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many employees of health trusts in the Province are on sick leave, broken down by profession.

Shaun Woodward: The number of employees who were on sick leave on 30 September 2005 is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Staff group Number of employees on sick leave 
		
		
			 Administrative and clerical 549 
			 Works and maintenance 37 
			 Ancillary and general 876 
			 Nursing and midwifery 1,415 
			 Social work staff 333 
			 Professional and technical 240 
			 Medical and dental 50 
			 NI Ambulance Service(82) (82)83.59 
		
	
	(82) The NI Ambulance Service HSS Trust was only able to provide information in whole time equivalent due to the shift patterns worked by employees. Their figure includes employees in the ambulance, administrative and clerical, ancillary and general and medical staff groups.

NHS Sickness Absence

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the costs resulting from sick leave among NHS employees in the Province in 200405.

Shaun Woodward: The information requested is not held centrally.

Nurses

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many overseas nurses are employed by each health trust in the Province.

Shaun Woodward: Information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		Nurses from overseas employed by health trust as at 1 November 2005
		
			 Trust Headcount Whole-time equivalent 
		
		
			 Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust 30 30.00 
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 0 0.00 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 100 100.00 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 12 12.00 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust 2 2.00 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 40 38.94 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust 51 51.00 
			 Foyle Community HSS Trust 4 4.00 
			 Greenpark Healthcare HSS Trust 57 56.88 
			 Homefirst Community HSS Trust 55 55.00 
			 Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust 51 51.00 
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 12 12.00 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust 0 0.00 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust 218 218.00 
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust 0 0.00 
			 Sperrin Lakeland HSS Trust 25 24.84 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals Group  HSS Trust 107 107.00 
			 United Hospitals Group HSS Trust 95 95.00 
			 Total 859 857.66 
		
	
	Source:
	NI Health Trusts

Nurses

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many nursing vacancies there are in each health trust in the Province.

Shaun Woodward: The information requested is provided in the following tables.
	
		Number of current vacancies for nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff at each health trust as at 31 March 2005
		
			  Qualified nursing staff(83) Unqualified nursing staff 
			 Trust Headcount WTE Headcount WTE 
		
		
			 Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust 38 37.32 12 11.40 
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 16 15.03 5 5.00 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 116 114.19 10 9.20 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 10 9.50 1 1.00 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust 9 6.45 0 0.00 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 18 15.78 3 2.53 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust 19 18.41 0 0.00 
			 Foyle Community HSS Trust 15 14.00 4 4.00 
			 Green Park Healthcare HSS Trust 50 45.24 13 7.97 
			 Homefirst Community HSS Trust 27 25.43 0 0.00 
			 Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust 44 42.95 22 20.67 
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 2 2.00 0 0.00 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust 47 41.97 4 2.53 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust 137 116.84 34 26.90 
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust 30 29.33 0 0.00 
			 Sperrin/Lakeland HSS Trust 12 12.00 1 0.80 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust 30 27.15 3 1.00 
			 United Hospitals Group HSS Trust 20 18.47 12 9.26 
			 Other Agencies and Board Headquarters 2 1.80 0 0.00 
			 Total 642 593.86 124 102.26 
		
	
	(83) Qualified nursing staff include midwives, health visitors and district nurses.
	Source:
	NI HPSS Trusts and Organisations
	
		Number of long-term vacancies for nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff at each health trust as at 31 March 2005
		
			  Qualified nursing staff(84) Unqualified nursing staff 
			 Trust Headcount WTE Headcount WTE 
		
		
			 Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust 38 37.32 12 11.4 
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 6 6.00 0 0.00 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 108 106.19 10 9.20 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 2 2.00 0 0.00 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 3 2.84 0 0.00 
			 Down Lisburn HSS Trust 7 6.41 0 0.00 
			 Foyle Community HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Green Park Healthcare HSS Trust 32 32.00 0 0.00 
			 Homefirst Community HSS Trust 11 10.50 0 0.00 
			 Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust 20 20.00 0 0.00 
			 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust 41 37.17 3 2.00 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust 14 13.33 0 0.00 
			 Sperrin/Lakeland HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 United Hospitals Group HSS Trust 0 0.00 0 0.00 
			 Other Agencies and Board Headquarters 1 0.80 0 0.00 
			 Total 283 274.56 25 22.60 
		
	
	(84) Qualified nursing staff include midwives, health visitors and district nurses.
	Source:
	NI HPSS Trusts and Organisations

Ombudsmen (Police Complaints)

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints he has received from police officers regarding (a) actions by officers from the Ombudsman's Office and (b) investigations carried out by the Police Ombudsman in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: In light of the Police Ombudsman's independent status, the NIO does not receive and handle complaints made against the Police Ombudsman's Office, except on the very narrow ground of maladministration in the Ombudsman's administrative processes. A complaint about the Ombudsman's handling of an investigation, or its outcome should be pursued through the Ombudsman's own internal complaints mechanism.
	Records of complaints of alleged administrative maladministration are available from January 2005. Since then, three such complaints have been received from police officers.

Orthopaedic Surgeons

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many consultant orthopaedic surgeons there are in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: Information is only available for those consultant orthopaedic surgeons working within the Northern Ireland Health and Personal Social Services workforce. This information is provided in the table.
	
		Number of consultant orthopaedic surgeons employed within the NI HPSS by trust as at 31 October 2005
		
			 Trust Headcount Whole-time equivalent 
		
		
			 Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust 7 6.91 
			 Green Park Healthcare HSS Trust 16 13.87 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust 11 10.00 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals Group  HSS Trust 5 5.00 
			 Total 39 35.78 
		
	
	Source:
	NI HPSS Trusts

Paramilitary Violence

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many paramilitary (a) shootings and (b) assaults have been recorded by each Police District Command Unit in the Province in each of the last seven years.

Shaun Woodward: The information is as follows.
	
		(a) Casualties as a result of paramilitary style shootings
		
			 DCU 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005(85) Total 
		
		
			 Antrim 1 1 1 2 2 5 0 12 
			 Ards 0 1 4 8 12 14 12 51 
			 Armagh 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 5 
			 Banbridge 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 
			 East Belfast 5 9 7 12 17 14 12 76 
			 North Belfast 20 35 48 41 30 26 14 214 
			 South Belfast 2 11 16 9 8 3 0 49 
			 West Belfast 10 15 30 16 29 6 3 109 
			 Ballymena 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Ballymoney 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 
			 Carrickfergus 3 2 7 12 6 2 0 32 
			 Coleraine 0 2 0 5 4 2 0 13 
			 Cookstown 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Craigavon 2 1 3 3 2 1 1 13 
			 Castlereagh 3 0 3 6 3 10 6 31 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 1 2 2 1 2 1 1 10 
			 Down 1 3 2 2 2 1 0 11 
			 Fermanagh 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 
			 Foyle 2 0 2 3 3 3 1 14 
			 Larne 1 1 2 4 0 2 0 10 
			 Limavady 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lisburn 3 10 12 12 7 2 0 46 
			 Magherafelt 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 
			 Moyle 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Newtownabbey 9 29 26 28 18 10 9 129 
			 North Down 1 3 13 2 2 5 3 29 
			 Newry and Mourne 1 6 3 4 2 1 0 17 
			 Omagh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Strabane 3 2 2 1 4 3 2 17 
			 Total 73 136 186 173 156 112 65 901 
		
	
	
		(b) Casualties as a result of paramilitary style assaults
		
			 DCU 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005(85) Total 
		
		
			 Antrim 6 5 2 1 4 3 5 26 
			 Ards 8 4 12 9 8 7 5 53 
			 Armagh 0 4 5 2 1 2 1 15 
			 Banbridge 0 2 2 0 3 2 0 9 
			 East Belfast 4 6 9 9 8 4 1 41 
			 North Belfast 10 15 9 11 22 16 12 95 
			 South Belfast 4 9 4 9 6 7 6 45 
			 West Belfast 12 15 13 16 16 6 4 82 
			 Ballymena 1 2 7 2 0 0 0 12 
			 Ballymoney 3 0 3 3 6 0 1 16 
			 Carrickfergus 5 7 8 13 7 3 7 50 
			 Coleraine 2 0 0 3 1 5 2 13 
			 Cookstown 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 
			 Craigavon 4 2 2 0 2 3 3 16 
			 Castlereagh 2 2 3 7 6 7 4 31 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 2 0 0 2 1 5 2 12 
			 Down 2 4 7 3 3 5 1 25 
			 Fermanagh 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 
			 Foyle 17 17 8 4 7 6 7 66 
			 Larne 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 5 
			 Limavady 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 4 
			 Lisburn 11 11 16 10 12 4 3 67 
			 Magherafelt 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Moyle 2 1 0 2 2 1 1 9 
			 Newtownabbey 20 18 18 14 12 13 5 100 
			 North Down 7 3 6 4 10 7 2 39 
			 Newry and Mourne 4 1 3 6 6 2 4 26 
			 Omagh 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 
			 Strabane 3 3 7 4 2 7 1 27 
			 Total 134 132 146 139 149 115 77 892 
		
	
	(85) To 30 September.
	Note:
	2005 statistics are provisional and may be subject to minor amendment.

Pedestrian Crossings

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what the assessment procedures and criteria are for new pedestrian crossings in Northern Ireland; whether he plans to review them; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  in what locations pedestrian crossings have been requested in each roads service division in the past five years; where they have been provided; and where there are plans for new crossings;
	(3)  how much his Department spent on pedestrian crossings in the last five years in each roads service division; what the budgeted expenditure is for 200506; and what the planned expenditure is in each of the next five years.

Shaun Woodward: I have asked the Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to these questions. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Pension Books

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pension books were issued in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: In April 2003, Direct Payment became the normal method of payment for social security benefits. Pension order books were phased out in March 2005 and none have been issued since then.
	The number of pension order books issued in Northern Ireland in the last five years is shown in the table as follows.
	
		
			  Number of pension order books 
		
		
			 2000 455,500 
			 2001 448,433 
			 2002 437,155 
			 2003 383,917 
			 2004 167,882

Pensioners

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the pensioner population is in each Westminster constituency in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The following table gives the official estimate of the population of Northern Ireland of pensionable age (65 and over for males, and 60 and over for females), at 30 June 2004 by parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland.
	
		Northern Ireland mid-year population of pensionable age, by parliamentary constituency, 2004
		
			 Parliamentary constituency Population of pensionable age 
		
		
			 Belfast East 17,100 
			 Belfast North 16,400 
			 Belfast South 15,100 
			 Belfast West 12,400 
			 East Antrim 14,300 
			 East Londonderry 14,400 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 15,300 
			 Foyle 13,300 
			 Lagan Valley 16,600 
			 Mid Ulster 12,300 
			 Newry and Armagh 15,200 
			 North Antrim 18,400 
			 North Down 17,400 
			 South Antrim 15,300 
			 South Down 16,100 
			 Strangford 16,800 
			 Upper Bann 16,300 
			 West Tyrone 12,500

PFI Hospitals

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what hospital projects have been built in Northern Ireland using private finance initiative schemes in each year since 2001; and where each is located.

Shaun Woodward: No hospital projects have been built in Northern Ireland using private finance initiative schemes since 2001. However, one construction project has reached financial completion in 2005, and building work has commenced. This project is for a services centre involving new pathology, pharmacy and changing rooms in Altnagelvin hospitals HSS Trust.

Planning Applications

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many planning applications were determined by the Planning Appeals Commission in each year since 1999; and how many of these determinations were in favour of the applicant in each local government council in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Planning Appeals Commission is a tribunal non-departmental public body, and the chief commissioner has written to the hon. Gentleman. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.

Police Service

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police cells are in use in each district command unit in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: The following table provides details of cell provision in designated custody suites across the district command units and the serious crime suite at Antrim. The figures include cells suitable for juvenile detention.
	
		Cells available in each designated custody suite
		
			 DCU area Location Designated custody suite Number of available cells 
		
		
			 Urban region
			 1. Antrim Antrim DCU PACE 10 
			  Serious Crime 10 
			 2. Ards Newtownards DCU PACE 6 
			 3. Belfast East DCU Strandtown DCU PACE 6 
			 4. Belfast North DCU Antrim Road DCU PACE 11 
			 5. Belfast South DCU Musgrave St. DCU PACE 13 
			 6. Belfast West DCU Grosvenor Road DCU PACE 8 
			 7. Lisburn Lisburn DCU PACE 8 
			 Rural region
			 8. Armagh Armagh DCU PACE 4 
			 9. Ballymena Ballymena DCU PACE 4 
			 10. Banbridge Banbridge DCU PACE 6 
			 11. Coleraine Coleraine DCU PACE 10 
			 12. Cookstown Cookstown DCU PACE 2 
			 13. Craigavon Lurgan DCU PACE 6 
			 14. Down Downpatrick DCU PACE 4 
			 15. Dungannon Dungannon DCU PACE 5 
			 16. Fermanagh Enniskillen DCU PACE 8 
			 17. Foyle Strand Road DCU PACE 9 
			 18. Waterside Sector Station PACE 3 
			 19. Limavady Limavady DCU PACE 5 
			 20. Omagh Omagh DCU PACE 5 
			 21. Strabane Strabane DCU PACE 6 
			 Total cell availability   149

Prisons

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners sentenced in courts in Northern Ireland are serving their sentence at prisons in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.

Shaun Woodward: There are currently six prisoners sentenced in courts in Northern Ireland who are serving their sentences in English prisons. There are no such prisoners in Scottish or Welsh prisons.

Prisons

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) representations and (b) complaints have been made by members of the public to the Prison Service in Northern Ireland in the last two years regarding the location of the prison at Magilligan, County Londonderry.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Prison Service have record of only once instance where a member of the public made representation, via electronic mail in September 2005, regarding the location of Magilligan Prison. It is known that a number of families of prisoners would favour a location nearer to major centres of population.
	However the Service is aware of the interest in the issue, and is fully engaged with staff on the subject. Magilligan Prison has a positive relationship with the local community and the Director General of the Prison Service recently attended a meeting of Limavady Borough Council's Economic Development Committee at which a range of views were expressed. No firm decision has yet been taken on the prison's future location.

Restorative Justice

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many restorative justice schemes have been introduced in Northern Ireland under the terms of Part IV of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002.

David Hanson: Youth conferences as described in Part IV of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 are being rolled out in Northern Ireland as one scheme, managed by the Youth Conference Service, which is part of the Youth Justice Agency.

Road Accidents

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many road traffic collisions involving stolen vehicles there have been in each of the last five years; and how many were (a) fatal collisions, (b) serious collisions and (c) slight collisions in each year.

Shaun Woodward: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Fatal collision Serious collision Slight collision Total 
		
		
			 2000 4 45 228 277 
			 2001 6 50 231 287 
			 2002 5 29 192 226 
			 2003 7 25 133 165 
			 2004 2 18 80 100 
			 Total 24 167 864 1,055

Road Accidents

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many road traffic collisions involving hit and run vehicles there have been in each of the last five years; and how many were (a) fatal collisions, (b) serious collisions and (c) slight collisions in each year.

Shaun Woodward: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		Number of injury road traffic collisions where a hit and run vehicle was involved: 200004
		
			  Fatal collision Serious collision Slight collision Total 
		
		
			 2000 4 98 734 836 
			 2001 4 83 738 825 
			 2002 6 103 659 768 
			 2003 3 75 626 704 
			 2004 5 60 489 554 
			 Total 22 419 3,246 3,687

Road Traffic Offences

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2005, Official Report, column 114W, on road traffic offences, what 'intelligence led basis' means in this context; and how the operational command units choose the roads which they police.

Shaun Woodward: This is an operational matter for the Chief Constable, who will write to the hon. Gentleman. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

School Transport

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much he has allocated for school transport in Northern Ireland for (a) 200506 and (b) 200607.

Angela Smith: Funding for home to school transport is provided by each Education and Library Board out of its overall budget for support services to schools, and is subject to the approval of the Department. The Revised Resource Allocation Plans provided by the boards show that they expect to spend approximately 65 million on home to school transport in 200506. Allocations to boards for 200607 have yet to be determined and will be subject to the outcome of Budget 2005.

Schools (Viability Criteria)

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria are used in assessing the viability of schools in terms of pupil numbers; and whether the same criteria are applied across all educational sectors in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The pupil viability criterion for new primary schools seeking recognition for giant-aid purposes is a minimum first year intake of 15 pupils in Belfast and Londonderry and 12 pupils elsewhere. The pupil viability criterion for new post-primary schools seeking recognition for grant-aid purposes is a minimum year eight intake of 50 pupils.
	To qualify for capital funding, primary schools must achieve a minimum first year intake of 20 pupils in Belfast and Londonderry and 15 pupils elsewhere for three years. Post-primary schools must achieve minimum year eight intakes of 50 pupils for three years.
	These criteria apply to all proposals for new schools and to all educational sectors. Pupil numbers Are not the sole criteria considered by the Department of Education in approving funding for a new school.
	There are no minimum viability numbers set for existing schools. However, the department has considered it appropriate to review the position of a primary school if its enrolment is below 60 pupils and a post-primary school if its enrolment is below 300 pupils. The department is currently reviewing the viability criteria for schools.

Sexual Equality

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken in Northern Ireland to promote sexual equality in the workplace in relation to terms and conditions of employment, particularly in relation to pay and opportunities for promotion.

Angela Smith: There is a robust framework of sex equality legislation in place in Northern Ireland which prohibits discrimination on the ground of sex in terms and conditions of employment, including promotion and equal pay between men and women.
	A range of employment rights is also in place for working parents, such as extended paid maternity leave and the right to request flexible working for parents of young children or disabled children under 18.
	The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has a duty to promote equality of opportunity between men and women and provides advice and assistance in relation to employment issues. The Commission, in partnership with Opportunity Now Northern Ireland, facilitates the Equal Pay Forum, made up of employers and trade union officials, which raises awareness and promotes best practice on equal pay issues.

Smoking-related Deaths

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many smoking-related deaths there were in Northern Ireland in the last four years; and how many people he estimates smoked regularly in each age group in each of the last four years.

Angela Smith: Smoking history is rarely recorded on death certificates. Estimates can however be made of the number of deaths attributable to smoking, by using information on the contribution that smoking makes to specific conditions recorded at death. The Health Development Agency 1 published the most recent estimates for Northern Ireland in 2004. This report estimated that over the period 19982002, an average of 2,300 deaths were caused by smoking each year in Northern Ireland.
	The most recent survey estimates of the percentage of the population of Northern Ireland who smoke are given in the following table.
	1 Twigg, L., Moon, G., and Walker, S. The smoking epidemic in England, Health Development Agency, 2004 (http://www.publichealth.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=502811).
	
		Table: Prevalence of smoking by age in Northern Ireland, 200203 and 200405 -- Percentage
		
			  Financial year 
			 Age group 200203 200405 
		
		
			 1624 32 29 
			 2534 32 55 
			 3544 27 32 
			 4564 26 26 
			 65 + 14 12 
			 All adults aged 16+ 26 26 
		
	
	Source:
	Continuous Household Survey

Sports Council

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the level of Sports Council funding for minority sports in Northern Ireland in 200506.

David Hanson: The Sports Council for Northern Ireland is responsible for the development of sport in Northern Ireland including the distribution of funding to sport. The Sports Council does not use or recognise the term minority sports in deciding funding levels. Figures on Sports Council funding levels to sport in Northern Ireland in 200506 are not yet available.

Staff Assaults

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what costs were incurred by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety resulting from attacks on ambulance crews and their vehicles in the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The costs incurred by the Northern Ireland ambulance service resulting from attacks on ambulance crews and their vehicles in the last three years are not readily identifiable. The trust is currently developing a method of accurately capturing these costs.
	While the number of attacks has reduced in the last three years, attacks on front-line ambulance staff and their equipment not only endangers them, but also reduces their ability to deliver vital services which could ultimately result in putting the lives of patients lives needlessly at risk.

Teachers

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to increase the number of students taking up teacher training programmes.

Angela Smith: The level of intakes to teacher education courses is determined annually by the Department of Education, with the aim of maintaining a reasonable match between the numbers being trained and the projected numbers of teaching vacancies. Pupil numbers are on the decline and the anticipated number of teachers required annually reflects that trend. Student intakes are therefore being reduced accordingly.

Teachers

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to publish a report on the work of the Teachers' Health and Well-Being Strategy Group; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: I have been informed that the chair of the Teachers' Health and Well-being Strategy Group expects to reconvene the group in mid-November when a revised draft of the strategy document will be tabled. The report will then be presented to management side of the Teachers' Negotiating Committee, who the group reports to, before being placed on the agenda for formal discussion at the Teachers' Negotiating Committee. Until these procedures are complete I am unable to specify a particular date for publication.

Teachers

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland who has been consulted during the consultation process being carried out by the Teachers' Health and Well-Being Strategy Group; and when he expects to receive a report on the outcome of the consultation.

Angela Smith: There has not been a formal consultation process at this stage.
	The Teachers' Health and Well-being Strategy Group was established by, and reports to, the management side of the Teachers' Negotiating Committee and it is the management side who will decide on any consultation process when they receive the report from the strategy group.

Teachers

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) Protestant and (b) Catholic teachers are employed in (i) the state controlled sector, (ii) the Catholic maintained sector and the (iii) integrated sector; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The Department of Education in Northern Ireland does not hold statistical information on the religious breakdown of teachers, nor is it aware of any bodies that do.

Terrorism Act

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many suspected Irish terrorists have been held for more than seven days under Schedule 8 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Shaun Woodward: Section 306 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, extends the maximum period of detention permitted under Schedule 8 of the Terrorism Act 2000 from seven to 14 days. PSNI advises that no persons have been detained for more than seven days under this legislation.

Unauthorised Encampments Order

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he intends to enable the Unauthorised Encampments (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: During the debate into the legislation, I indicated that I intended to defer bringing the substantive provisions of the order into effect until I am satisfied that an adequate number of transit sites are operational in Northern Ireland. I anticipate that five sites will be operational in 2006, I am reviewing the situation with the Housing Executive with a view to enabling the necessary provisions as soon as possible once the sites are operational.

Victim Groups (Funding)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding has been allocated for victim groups in Northern Ireland in the past five years, broken down by (a) Westminster parliamentary constituency and (b) district council area.

Angela Smith: Records show that funding detailed in the following tables has been allocated to organisations involved in providing support for victims between April 1998 and March 2005. A year by year breakdown of these figures is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	In addition to the amounts shown, victims' groups may also apply for funding from any programme or scheme, such as the District Council Community Relations Programme or European Union funding through the Local Strategy Partnerships, for which they can satisfy the relevant eligibility criteria.
	The funding has been attributed to the relevant parliamentary constituency and local district council area according to headquarters address of the group or organisation concerned. The group or organisation in some instances will provide services on a wider geographic area.
	
		(a) Westminster parliamentary constituency
		
			   
		
		
			 East Antrim 180,610 
			 North Antrim 235,785 
			 South Antrim 0 
			 Belfast East 186,710 
			 Belfast North 7,105,379 
			 Belfast South 8,699,038 
			 Belfast West 4,116,819 
			 North Down 363,647 
			 South Down 115,118 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 1,229,496 
			 Foyle 2,340,406 
			 Lagan Valley 699,965 
			 East Londonderry 194,704 
			 Newry and Armagh 1,676,222 
			 Strangford 6,180 
			 West Tyrone 3,227,466 
			 Mid Ulster 12,325 
			 Upper Bann 769,471 
		
	
	
		(b) District council area
		
			   
		
		
			 Antrim 0 
			 Ards 99,508 
			 Armagh 1,497,073 
			 Ballymena 0 
			 Ballymoney 80,627 
			 Banbridge 216,006 
			 Belfast City 20,012,116 
			 Carrickfergus 180,610 
			 Castlereagh 129,594 
			 Coleraine 194,704 
			 Cookstown 8,225 
			 Craigavon 770,571 
			 Derry City 2,340,406 
			 Down 1,790 
			 Dungannon 230,066 
			 Fermanagh 1,069,430 
			 Larne 0 
			 Limavady 0 
			 Lisburn 821,359 
			 Magherafelt 3,000 
			 Moyle 0 
			 Newry and Mourne 326,790 
			 Newtownabbey 0 
			 North Down 20,000 
			 Omagh 2,129,304 
			 Strabane 1,098,162 
		
	
	Note:
	The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland (formerly Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust) also received 1,123,324 through the EU Special Programme for Peace and Reconciliation (Peace I), which supported victims of violence. The Foundation allocated these funds in support of a number of projects for both ex-offenders and victims. Persons from these groups could benefit from the same project and it is not possible to disaggregate the assistance between the two groups.

Victims Commissioner

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what budget is planned for the Office of the Commissioner for Victims; how many staff are expected to be employed in that office; and when the office will open.

Angela Smith: The recently appointed Interim Commissioner for Victims and Survivors, Mrs. Bertha McDougall, is due to take up post with effect from 5 December 2005. Her office will be operational from that date. Sufficient resources will be made available to enable the Interim Commissioner to carry out her duties and it is anticipated at this stage that she will have a staff of four to assist her.

Young Offender Institutions

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many young offenders institutions there are in Northern Ireland; how many offenders are in each; and what the capacity is of each.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Prison Service has one Young Offenders Centre located at Hydebank Wood, Belfast.
	The centre can currently accommodate up to 244 males in single cell accommodation. At 4 November it housed 196 young offenders.

Youth Conferences

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the places where youth conferences of the kind set out in the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 have been piloted in Northern Ireland since December 2003, broken down by police district command unit.

David Hanson: Youth conferences of the kind set out in the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 have been rolled out to the following court divisions:
	
		
			 County court division Date commenced PSNI district command unit 
		
		
			 Belfast 18 December 2003 West Belfast 
			   South Belfast 
			   East Belfast 
			   North Belfast 
			   Carrickfergus 
			   Newtownabbey 
			 Fermanagh and 5 April 2004 Fermanagh 
			 Tyrone  Strabane 
			   Dungannon and South Tyrone 
			   Cookstown 
			   Omagh 
			 Armagh and South 6 June 2005 Banbridge 
			 Down  Newry and Mourne 
			   Armagh

HEALTH

Adult Social Care

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she plans to publish a White Paper on adult social care.

Liam Byrne: We are drawing to the close of a major listening exercise that will feed into a new White Paper covering the health and care that people need in the community. The public consultation exercise is known as Your Health, Your Care, Your Say: Improving Community Health and Care Services.
	The consultation is broad in scope and covers both health and social care because that is what makes sense to people. The White Paper will bring together the outcome from the social care Green Paper, Independence, Well-being and Choice, with thinking on health services provided in community settings. The consultation is due to close on 4 November and the aim will be to publish a White Paper around the turn of the year.

Alzheimer's Disease

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to receive updated guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on the use of (a) donepezil, (b) rivastigmine, (c) galantigmine and (d) memantine for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Jane Kennedy: This is a matter for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Information about NICE'S current work programme is available on its website at www.nice.org.uk.

Ambulance Services (Salisbury)

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on replacing the ambulance station in Salisbury.

Caroline Flint: It is for the local national health service to decide on how to deliver health services in their local communities which includes decisions on the replacement of local ambulance stations. The hon. Member may wish to approach the chair of Wiltshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust directly.
	However, I have been informed by Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority, that there are currently no plans to replace Salisbury ambulance station.

Asperger's Syndrome

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will ensure that each child diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome receives immediate referral for assessment in order to gain access to appropriate therapies and social skills training;
	(2)  if she will make it her policy that each child diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome should be allocated a key worker or lead nurse immediately following diagnosis.

Liam Byrne: The importance of early identification of developmental disorders followed up with prompt early interventions is emphasised in standard eight of the national service framework (NSF) for children, young people and maternity services. This standard applies to all disabled children and young people and those with complex health needs, including those with Asperger's syndrome. Autism spectrum disorders were the subject of one of the first two exemplars which we published at the same time as the NSF.
	The standard sets out clearly that parents of severely disabled children or those with high levels of need require a key worker. The key worker service should be provided in line with the guidance in Together from the Start (DH/DfES 2003) and Care Co-ordination Network UK Key Worker Standards (Care Co-ordination Network UK, April 2004) and supported by cross-agency senior management commitment. Key Worker Standards notes that a successful key worker service is dependent on an agreed referral system and specific guidelines for eligibility for the key worker service. These should be determined according to local need.

Avian Influenza

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she plans to extend the range of high risk groups who currently receive influenza vaccination.

Caroline Flint: The risk groups who are currently offered seasonal influenza vaccine are based on advice from the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI keeps its advice under regular review.

Breast Screening

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on breast screening performed at age 50 and over on patients living in (a) North Yorkshire and (b) Essex; and at what (i) age and (ii) frequency such screening is carried out.

Rosie Winterton: The national computerised call/recall system for breast screening was introduced in 1988. Women aged 50 to 64 are invited for free breast screening every three years. Following successful Government funded pilot studies, the programme is being extended to women aged 65 to 70. Women over 70 can request free three yearly screening.

Cancelled/Delayed Treatment

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) cancelled operations and (b) delayed transfers of care there have been in Lancashire hospital teaching NHS trust in each of the last seven years.

Liam Byrne: The information requested on cancelled operations is shown in table 1.
	
		Table 1: Cancelled operations in Lancashire teaching hospitals national health service foundation trust: 200102 to 200506
		
			  Number of last minute cancellations for non clinical reasons 
		
		
			 200102 (86)386 
			 200203 389 
			 200304 440 
			 200405 406 
			 200506 (87)123 
		
	
	(86) Due to organisational changes this figure represents Chorley and South Ribble primary care trust only in the first quarter, then Chorley and South Ribble NHS trust and Preston acute hospitals trust in the second, third and fourth quarters of 200102.
	(87) This figure for 200506 represents only those cancelled operations in the first quarter of 200506. Data for other quarters is not yet available.
	Note:
	Data were originally collected by health authority only prior to 200102. Trust level data were collected from 200102 onwards.
	Source:
	QMCO
	The information requested on delayed transfers of care is shown in table 2.
	
		Table 2: Delayed transfers of care in Lancashire teaching hospitals NHS foundation trust: 19992000 to 200405
		
			  Delayed transfers of care 
		
		
			 19992000 (88)17 
			 200001 (88)10 
			 200102 (88)21 
			 200203 17 
			 200304 03 
			 200405 15 
		
	
	(88) Figures represent Chorley and South Ribble NHS trust and Preston acute hospitals NHS trust. Situation reports (SITREPS) were not collected prior to 19992000.
	Source:
	SITREPS

Cancer

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts are providing cancer patients with velcade.

Jane Kennedy: The information is not available in the format requested.

Cancer

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether cancer drugs are approved more rapidly if applications are restricted to national use and do not require European approval by the EU's committee for medicinal products for formal marketing approval.

Jane Kennedy: The time allowed for marketing authorisation of products is specified in European legislation and is the same for all types of drugs and whether approved by national licensing or by the European Commission through the European Medicines Agency's scientific committee for human medicinal products. The maximum time allowed for the evaluation of the company's data for the initial authorisation of a new product is 210 days in both cases. Variations to the initial authorisation, for example to add new uses, have to be evaluated within 90 days in both cases. The national agencies and the European agencies may also accelerate those procedure times where justified for example by urgent unmet medical needs for potentially life-saving drugs.
	However, if one considers the needs of all European patients, approval can be faster using the European Union single procedure than a series of separate national approval procedures. That is one of the reasons why many complex new drugs using new biotechnology methods of production must use the European 'single licence' procedure. From November, all new anti-cancer drugs must also use this procedure so that they can be available to all European patients as quickly as possible.

Cancer

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts fund velcade for cancer treatment.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 28 October 2005
	Information on the number of primary care trusts funding velcade for cancer treatment is not collected centrally.
	In July, the Secretary of State announced that velcade would be referred to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for early appraisal.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 12 October 2005, Official Report, column 538W, on carbon monoxide poisoning, what the budget for section 64 grants is in 200506; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The budget for grants awarded to the voluntary and community sector under the section 64 General Scheme of Grants in 200506 is 17.88 million. A list of new and continuing grants is published annually on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/section64.
	The section 64 General Scheme of Grants helps to strengthen and further develop the partnership between the Department and the voluntary and community sector. It is the Department's main funding stream for national voluntary organisations working in the health and social care fields.

Care Guidance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance her Department issues to (a) local authority social services and (b) NHS organisations concerning the frequency of assessments for (i) social care, (ii) registered nursing contribution and (iii) NHS continuing care;
	(2)  when she expects to issue new guidance concerning NHS continuing care;
	(3)  if she will place in the Library a summary of the main issues discussed in the electronic discussion forum set up for her Department's work on NHS continuing care.

Liam Byrne: The Department is currently working on the production of a national assessment framework for continuing care due for publication in early 2006. This should result in a single set of national eligibility criteria and suitable assessment methodologies for access to national health service continuing care.
	Contributions to the electronic discussion forum, set up on the Department's website, in relation to the work on continuing care have not, to date, been significant. For the most part, the forum has attracted particular local queries rather than debate, and no issues have been raised that have not been aired at face-to-face stakeholder events.
	In the lead-up to the formal public consultation, we are noting all comments received from stakeholders. This will continue during the consultation period, and the information will be available after completion of this process.
	Policy guidance on fair access to care services (FACS) was published on 2 June 2002 under guidance of local authority circular (LAC) (2002)13. The guidance provides councils with an eligibility framework for adult social care for them to use when setting and applying their eligibility criteria. It also covers the timing of reviews.
	Detailed guidance on registered nursing care contributions are available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/01/23/03/04012303.pdfHealth Service Circular HSC 2003/006Guidance on NHS Funded Nursing Care.
	www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/01/22/04/040122204.pdfHealth Service Circular HSC 2001/17Guidance on Free Nursing Care in Nursing Homes.
	Following the ombudsman's report on continuing care assessment procedures, new cases are now considered routinely as part of hospital discharge. Detailed guidance on procedures for NHS continuing care are available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/01/22/80/04012280.pdfHealth Service Circular HSC2 2001/015Continuing Care: NHS and Local Councils' responsibilities.

Carers' Grants

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funds have been allocated to fund carers' grants in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.

Liam Byrne: Information showing the funds allocated to councils in the carers' grant in each of the last five years has been placed in the Library.

Choose and Book System

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will set out the criteria used to choose those general practitioners who wish to participate in the pilot choose and book exercise; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The choose and book programme has concluded its proof of concept pilot phase, which was conducted over 14 primary care and 13 secondary care sites. This was concluded in June 2005. The programme will not be undertaking any more pilots as the system has moved to wider roll out across the national health service.
	The choose and book system is now available to all general practitioner practices (GP) in England in either the web based format or fully integrated. Local GPs should contact their local primary care trust's choose and book lead to agree a go live date.

Choose and Book System

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of general practitioner practices are making referrals using the choose and book system.

Liam Byrne: As at 27 October 2005, 1,089 general practitioner (GP) practices had gone live with and started to make referrals using the choose and book system. This equates to 13 per cent. of the GP practices in England.

Commission for Social Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she has taken to ensure that the Commission for Social Care Inspection has the capacity to analyse trends in the numbers and types of complaints it receives.

Liam Byrne: As an independent body, it is up to the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), to manage its resources and ensure that it adequately performs all its functions.
	To ensure that the CSCI has the resources to carry out its functions, the Department provides funding through grant-in-aid to supplement income generated by the CSCI from its regulatory work. In 200405, grant-in-aid from the Department amounted to just under 101 million.
	An analysis of trends in the number and types of complaints against regulated services that the CSCI has received can be found in its annual report 200405, which is available in the Library.

Commission for Social Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the Commission for Social Care Inspection to publish its follow-up report on medication in care homes.

Liam Byrne: I understand from the chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), that the follow-up report on medication in care homes, will be published in February 2006.
	The follow-up report will contain information about how care homes score against medication national minimum standards, similar to the original medication report published by the National Care Standards Commission in March 2004.
	Publication of the report has been put back from December 2005 to February 2006, so that it can incorporate an analysis of complaints regarding medication issues that the Commission has received about care homes. It will also incorporate the results of a survey of CSCI inspectors on what factors led them to award top or bottom scores for homes against the medication standards.

Commission for Social Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the Commission for Social Care Inspection to publish its national report on its joint inspection activity.

Liam Byrne: I understand from the chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that the national report on Joint inspection of services for older people'' will be published in March 2006.
	The report covers the inspection work that CSCI, the Healthcare Commission and the Audit Commission have jointly carried out into the way in which the national health service and councils are working together with their partners to meet the needs of older people and improve their lives.

Community Pharmacists

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ensure that community pharmacists are allocated a guaranteed seat on the commissioning boards of the locality commissioning consortia which are due to be set up as part of the new practice-based commissioning system.

Liam Byrne: There is no requirement for commissioning consortia to be established under practice based commissioning. This is a decision for primary care trusts, involving their practices and other primary healthcare professionals as appropriate.

Consultant Physicians

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the results of the 2004 annual consultant physician census carried out by the Federation of Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not accept the Royal College of Physician's contention that 78 per cent. of consultant physicians intend to retire early. There is often a distinct difference between the intention expressed when doctors are asked such a question and what actually happens when individual doctors reach the relevant age. The average retirement age for consultants has been relatively steady in recent years at around 63 to 64 years of age.
	The Department has developed a range of flexible retirement options, so doctors approaching retirement can adapt their working patterns without affecting pension entitlement. By extending their working lives through flexible retirement, experienced doctors can continue to provide their important services to patients and local communities.

Continuing Care

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average duration of an episode of NHS continuing care has been in each year since 199798; and what the total cost has been of providing NHS continuing care in each year since 199798.

Liam Byrne: Information on the average duration of a continuing care episode is not held centrally. There is no way to estimate with any precision the average duration of an episode of this type. Durations are likely to vary considerably, ranging from individuals with a life expectancy of just a few days, to those who remain in continuing care for extended periods. Information relating to the total cost of providing continuing care is not held centrally.

Continuing Care

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis is for the statement in her response of 21 July 2005 to the Health Select Committee's report on Continuing Care that the divide between health and social care provision, and the basis on which it is provided, has stood since 1948.

Liam Byrne: The distinction is a matter of law. The founding legislation of our health and social care are two separate and distinct Acts of this Parliament in the immediate post-war period; the National Health Service Act, 1946 and the National Assistance Act, 1948. More recent legislation, such as the Health and Social Care Act of 2001, has fostered and promoted co-operation and joint working between health and social care.

Continuing Care

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what procedures are in place to be followed by (a) primary care trust officers and (b) social workers to ensure that the NHS carries out a complete fully-funded NHS continuing care assessment where it is required;
	(2)  pursuant to the Government's response to the Health Select Committee's report, on NHS continuing care, cm 6650, on what date the template requiring all strategic health authorities to advertise was issued; and what the wording of the template is;
	(3)  how many times the NHS has settled cases out of court after solicitors for a patient have served final legal notice that court proceedings to secure free continuing care under R. (Coughlan) v. Devon Health Authority are being launched.

Liam Byrne: Following the Ombudsman's report on continuing care assessment procedures, eligibility for fully funded national health service continuing care is now considered routinely as part of hospital discharge. Detailed guidance on procedures for NHS continuing care is available on the Departments website at the following addresses:
	Continuing Care: NHS and Local Councils' responsibilities is available at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/01/22/80/04012280.pdf.
	Continuing Care (NHS responsibility) Directions 2004 is available at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/07/46/90/04074690.pdf.
	Delayed Discharge (Continuing Care) Directions 2004 is available at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/07/46/91/04074691.pdf.
	Strategic health authority (SHA) continuing care leads were sent a template on 13 May 2003. This template provided a suggested procedure for SHAs and primary care trusts to follow when investigating continuing care inquiries arising from the Ombudsman's report. It suggested what reasonable action was required in order to make people aware of the review process. A copy of the template is available in the Library.
	Information on the extent, if any, that the NHS has settled NHS continuing care eligibility cases out of court following receipt of final legal notice has not been collected.

Dacorum Primary Care Trust

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the at risk population of (a) Dacorum primary care trust and (b) Hertfordshire is expected to be inoculated against existing strains of influenza by (i) 30 November and (ii) 31 December.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Kettering (Mr. Hollobone) on Tuesday 1 November 2005, Official Report, column 970W.

Dacorum Primary Care Trust

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of breast cancer have been diagnosed in the area covered by Dacorum primary care trust in each month since January.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally.

Dentistry

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the Government's policy is on NHS dentist administration fees for children of those on incapacity benefits.

Rosie Winterton: No provision exists in the National Health Service General Dental Services Regulations 1992 (as amended) or the National Health Service (Dental Charges) Regulations 1989 for payment to dentists of an administration fee for children of those on incapacity benefit.

Departmental Estate

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what have been identified as the most significant sustainable development impacts in relation to operation of her Department's estate.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to her on 12 October 2005, Official Report, column 548W.

Departmental Policies

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Gateshead, East and Washington, West constituency, the effects in Gateshead, East and Washington, West of changes to her Department's policies since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The Government have put in place a programme of national health service investment and reform since 1997 to improve service delivery in all parts of the United Kingdom. There is significant evidence that these policies have yielded considerable benefits for the Gateshead, East and Washington, West constituency.
	For example:
	At the end of August 2005, there were no people waiting more than nine months for in-patient treatment at the Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, while in 1999 at Gateshead Health NHS Trust there were a total of 348 waiting more than nine months.
	At the end of June 2005, there were three patients waiting over 13 weeks for out-patient treatment at the Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, while in March 2000 there were a total of 397.
	At the end of August 2005, there were no people waiting more than nine months for in-patient treatment within Gateshead Primary Care Trust (PCT), a fall from 274 in June 2002.
	At the end of June 2005, the number of patients waiting over 13 weeks for out-patient treatment within Gateshead PCT has fallen to five from 724 in June 2002.
	In June 2003, at Gateshead Health NHS Trust, 92.8 per cent. of patients spent less than four hours in accident and emergency from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge.
	Figures for Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust in June 2005 show an improvement to 99.1 per cent.
	Between September 1998 and March 2005, the number of consultants at Gateshead Health NHS Trust, now Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, has increased from 69 to 98.
	Figures for June 2005 show that all patients within Gateshead PCT are able to be offered an appointment with a primary care professional within two working days.
	In the Gateshead unitary authority area, death rates from cancer per 100,000 population have fallen from 250.7 in 1997 to 215.5 in 2003.
	In the Gateshead unitary authority area, death rates from coronary heart disease per 100,000 population have fallen from 200.5 in 1997 to 146.3 in 2003.
	Gateshead PCTs allocation has risen to 242.7 million for 200506, a cash increase of 9.2 per cent.

Departmental Staff

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills of new recruits to her Department.

Jane Kennedy: The Department operates a competency based recruitment process, which requires candidates to demonstrate that they have the skills and competencies required for the advertised role. Applicants are generally assessed initially on the strength of their written application. Short listed candidates are expected to provide additional evidence at the interview stage. Where high levels of literacy or numeracy are required for a particular role a specific literacy or numeracy test may be carried out.

Departmental Water Consumption

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what reduction there has been in water consumption by her Department between 2002 and 31 March 2005.

Caroline Flint: In 200203, the water consumed in the Department's main London offices amounted to 22,346 cubic metres. In 200405, this amount had reduced to 18,012. Overall consumption per head had reduced from 8.72 to 7.50 cubic metres. This exceeds the target of 7.7 cubic metres per head contained in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.

Departmental Water Consumption

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health at which non-office sites on (a) her Department's estates and (b) estates of its arm's length bodies opportunities have been identified for significant water savings.

Jane Kennedy: The Department and its agencies have only three non-office sites. None of these has significant water usage and there are no opportunities for significant savings. Nevertheless, staff are encouraged to conserve water where possible.
	Of the Department's arms length bodies, water saving initiatives have been identified as follows:
	Health Protection Agency (HPA)
	Over the past few years the HPA and its predecessor bodies have introduced a number of measures to reduce water on its large sites at Colindale, Chilton and Porton. These measures include reduction in the number of autoclaves used, introduction of automatic unitaps for hand washing and the introduction of low water usage WC cisterns.
	The HPA has a green page on its intranet, which promotes the responsible use of water with minimal wastage.
	NHS Blood and Transplant
	NHS Blood and Transplant has three operating divisions:
	Bio Products Laboratory (BPL),
	National Blood Service (NBS) and
	UK Transplant (UKT).
	Water usage within the NBS and UKT is minimal, as processes do not require the use of large quantities of water. Water usage is constantly monitored and controlled through environmental monitoring controls.
	All water usage at BPL is in line with environmental consent limits.
	NHS Direct
	NHS Direct is considering acquiring new facilities. Resource consumption comparators will form part of the procurement assessment process.

Doctors

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners per head of population there have been in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear, (d) the North East and (e) England in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: Information on the number of general practitioners, excluding retainers and registrars, per 100,000 population is collected by primary care trust (PCT) area and is therefore not available on a constituency basis.
	Information for the North East and England between 1997 and 2004 is shown in the table.
	Information for South Tyneside PCT and the PCTs comprising Tyne and Wear is also shown in the table. However, the latest population data available at PCT level is for 2003. Information is only available at PCT level since 2001, as this was the first year PCTs were established.
	
		General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars )(89) per 100,000 head of population, for selected organisations 19972004
		
			   1997 1998 1999 
			   All practitioners(89) All practitioners(89) per 100,000 head of population All practitioners(89) All practitioners(89) per 100,000 head of population All practitioners(89) All practitioners(89) per 100,000 head of population 
		
		
			  England 28,046 57.6 28,251 57.9 28,467 58.1 
			 
			  North East 1,432 55.8 1,426 55.7 1,446 56.7 
			 Q10 County Durham and Tees Valley 621 54.0 620 53.9 626 54.6 
			 5J9 Darlington PCT (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) 
			 5KA Derwentside PCT (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) 
			 5KC Durham And Chester-Le-Street PCT (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) 
			 5J8 Durham Dales PCT (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) 
			 5KD Easington PCT (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) 
			 5D9 Hartlepool PCT (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) 
			 5KN Langbaurgh PCT (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) 
			 5KM Middlesbrough PCT (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) 
			 5E1 North Tees PCT (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) 
			 5KE Sedgefield PCT (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) 
			 
			 Q09 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 811 57.2 806 57.1 820 58.4 
			 5KF Gateshead PCT (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) 
			 5D7 Newcastle PCT (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) 
			 5D8 North Tyneside PCT (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) 
			 TAG Northumberland Care Trust (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) 
			 5KG South Tyneside PCT (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) 
			 5KL Sunderland Teaching PCT (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) (91) 
		
	
	
		
			   2000 2001 2002 
			   All practitioners(89) All practitioners(89) per 100,000 head of population All practitioners(89) All practitioners(89) per 100,000 head of population All practitioners(89) All practitioners(89) per 100,000 head of population 
		
		
			  England 28,593 58.1 28,802 58.2 29,202 58.8 
			 
			  North East 1,453 57.1 1,514 59.6 1,535 60.5 
			 Q10 County Durham and Tees Valley 634 55.3 662 57.8 664 57.9 
			 5J9 Darlington PCT (91) (91) 53 54.1 59 60.2 
			 5KA Derwentside PCT (91) (91) 44 51.7 41 48.1 
			 5KC Durham And Chester-Le-Street PCT (91) (91) 90 63.6 87 61.3 
			 5J8 Durham Dales PCT (91) (91) 54 62.9 52 60.8 
			 5KD Easington PCT (91) (91) 54 57.5 53 56.8 
			 5D9 Hartlepool PCT (91) (91) 47 52.1 49 54.4 
			 5KN Langbaurgh PCT (91) (91) 60 61.6 60 61.3 
			 5KM Middlesbrough PCT (91) (91) 113 61.8 114 62.9 
			 5E1 North Tees PCT (91) (91) 93 50.6 96 51.8 
			 5KE Sedgefield PCT (91) (91) 54 61.9 53 60.9 
			 
			 Q09 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 819 58.6 852 61.1 871 62.6 
			 5KF Gateshead PCT (91) (91) 120 62.8 122 63.9 
			 5D7 Newcastle PCT (91) (91) 177 66.5 196 73.7 
			 5D8 North Tyneside PCT (91) (91) 113 58.9 100 52.2 
			 TAG Northumberland Care Trust (91) (91) 203 66.0 207 67.2 
			 5KG South Tyneside PCT (91) (91) 84 55.0 84 55.2 
			 5KL Sunderland Teaching PCT (91) (91) 155 54.5 162 57.2 
		
	
	
		
			   2003 2004 
			   All practitioners(89) All practitioners(89) per 100,000 head of population All practitioners(89) All practitioners(89) per 100,000 head of population(90) 
		
		
			  England 30,358 60.9 31,523 62.9 
			   
			  North East 1,611 63.4 1,678 65.9 
			 Q10 County Durham and Tees Valley 700 61.0 739 64.3 
			 5J9 Darlington PCT 65 66.2 69 (91) 
			 5KA Derwentside PCT 42 49.1 53 (91) 
			 5KC Durham And Chester-Le-Street PCT 92 64.5 95 (91) 
			 5J8 Durham Dales PCT 61 71.0 67 (91) 
			 5KD Easington PCT 54 58.2 53 (91) 
			 5D9 Hartlepool PCT 51 56.6 51 (91) 
			 5KN Langbaurgh PCT 63 63.9 63 (91) 
			 5KM Middlesbrough PCT 112 62.4 119 (91) 
			 5E1 North Tees PCT 105 56.4 109 (91) 
			 5KE Sedgefield PCT 55 63.0 60 (91) 
			   
			 Q09 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 911 65.4 939 67.2 
			 5KF Gateshead PCT 127 66.5 128 (91) 
			 5D7 Newcastle PCT 178 66.8 174 (91) 
			 5D8 North Tyneside PCT 131 68.7 139 (91) 
			 TAG Northumberland Care Trust 216 69.8 236 (91) 
			 5KG South Tyneside PCT 88 58.0 88 (91) 
			 5KL Sunderland Teaching PCT 171 60.4 174 (91) 
		
	
	(89) General Medical Practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes Contracted GPs, QMS Others and PMS Others. Prior to September 2004 this group included QMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs, PMS Salaried GPs, Restricted Principals, Assistants, Salaried Doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS Other, Flexible Career Scheme GPs and GP Returners.
	(90) 2004 Primary Care Trust ONS population data to be published November 2005.
	(91) Data not applicable.
	Notes:
	1. PCTs did not come into existence until 2001. Therefore data for PCTs before 2001 is not available.
	2. Data as at 1 October 199799 and 30 September 200004.
	Source:
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre General and Personal Medical Services Statistics 2001 ONS Population Census.

Doctors

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deanery-approved junior doctors' training places there were for (a) senior house officers and (b) registrars in each of the last 10 years.

Liam Byrne: Information on the number of deanery approved junior doctors training places is not collected centrally.
	The Health and Social Care Information Centre aggregates information from each postgraduate deanery in respect of doctors holding training numbers as specialist registrars, but not senior house officers. This information is only available from 2000 and is shown in the table.
	
		Hospital, public health medicine and community health services: deanery approved training places(92) for specialist registrars; 200004, England(92)
		
			  Total 
		
		
			 2000 15,515 
			 2001 16,846 
			 2002 16,460 
			 2003 17,270 
			 2004 19,444 
		
	
	(92) Figures as at 30 September for 2000 and as at 31 March 200104.
	Source:
	National Health Service Health and Social Care Information Centre specialist registrar training monitoring collection.

European Medicines Evaluation Agency

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many drugs have been approved by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency for formal marketing approval in each of the last five years.

Jane Kennedy: The European Commission, which approves products through European Medicines Agency procedures, publishes a community register of medicinal products for human use, which lists the following numbers of marketing authorisation approvals:
	44, between October 2000 and September 2001.
	31, between October 2001 and September 2002.
	25, between October 2002 and September 2003.
	34, between October 2003 and September 2004.
	19, between October 2004 and September 2005.

Food Supplements (Tryptophan)

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of whether the consultation process undertaken by the Food Standards Agency on proposed changes in the regulation of tryptophan in food supplements was consistent (a) with the principles set out in Cabinet Office code of practice on consultation and (b) with the code of good practice in consultations and policy appraisal; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the merits of (a) warning statements and (b) statutory limits as a means of regulating the use of tryptophan in food supplements;
	(3)  what steps the Food Standards Agency took to communicate with stakeholders about its proposals for new regulations on the use of tryptophan in food supplements after the closure of its formal consultation exercise and prior to the laying of statutory instruments;
	(4)  why the Food Standards Agency proposed lower limits for the use of tryptophan in food supplements than the levels established by the agency's Ad Hoc Expert Advisory Committee on Vitamins and Minerals.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 27 October 2005
	The consultation process carried out by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) included preparing a regulatory impact assessment (RIA) to determine the impact on industry and consumers, which was followed by a 12-week consultation period with stakeholders on the proposed regulations and the draft RIA. The impact on industry, on allowing the re-introduction of L-tryptophan into supplements, was considered and on balance was considered to be positive given that supplements containing tryptophan have been prohibited for sale since 1990. Consumer choice will also be increased without presenting an appreciable risk to health. This approach is consistent with the Cabinet Office code of practice on consultation and the code of good practice in consultations and policy appraisal.
	The use of advisory statements was not considered appropriate due to the severity of the symptoms of eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome in people taking dietary supplements containing tryptophan pre-1990, and the uncertainty relating to gaps in the scientific evidence. The United Kingdom Government's committee on toxicity (COT) decided to recommend a daily dose level of 220 milligrammes (mg) on a precautionary basis that would not present an appreciable risk to health.
	Following the closure of the formal consultation exercise on the regulations for the use of tryptophan in foods, the COT secretariat has reviewed the data submitted by respondents. They found that there was no new evidence to that already reviewed by COT in 2004, when it reached its conclusions on the safety of tryptophan that would support a higher level of tryptophan being used in food supplements. The FSA therefore adopted the level and purity criteria recommended by COT, and this has therefore been adopted into UK legislation to reintroduce the sale of tryptophan supplements in the UK, in the interests of consumer choice and safety. We have asked COT to review its recommendation and any new information on tryptophan since June 2004, and this will be considered at the COT meeting in December. Depending on COTs advice the legislation may be amended. A summary of consultation responses and full RIA will be sent to all respondents, and made available on the FSA website.
	Tryptophan was not considered by the expert group on vitamins and minerals (EVM) as it is not a vitamin or mineral. The EVM proposed safe upper levels (SULs) for vitamins and minerals using the well-established paradigm for setting acceptable and tolerable intake levels for chemicals in food. Where the data were not adequate to set a SUL, the EVM gave guidance on levels that would not be expected to result in adverse effects.
	The COT uses the same paradigm in its consideration of the safety of tryptophan as a supplement. In its evaluation the COT noted significant uncertainties and decided that an uncertainty factor of 10 should be applied to derive a dose that would not be expected to be a risk to health in the general population. The limit proposed by the COT was 220 mg of tryptophan per day.

Foundation Trusts

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will allow foundation hospitals to compete to provide services in other areas.

Liam Byrne: National health service foundation trusts are empowered to develop and deliver new services either on their existing sites or further afield.
	The independent sector treatment programme is an efficient and cost effective use of the private sector capacity to reduce waiting times and offer choice across the NHS. The programme is targeted at independent sector providers who are able to make available additional capacity to NHS commissioners. We are following strict procurement regulations, and have not restricted any organisation from expressing an interest and then participating in the procurement.

Foundation Trusts

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether NHS foundation trusts may advertise their services abroad to attract non-UK patients.

Liam Byrne: There is no legal restriction preventing a national health service foundation trust (NHSFT) advertising its services abroad to attract non-United Kingdom patients. However, NHSFTs are bound by a duty to provide NHS services to NHS patients according to NHS values and principles and cannot increase their income from private patients at the expense of NHS patients. Section 15 of the Health Care Act 2003 provided for a private patient cap on such income for NHSFTs.

GP Practices

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of GP practices had adopted practice-based commissioning in the last period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally.

GP Practices

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 October 2005, Official Report, column 626W, on GP practices, how many general practitioners, excluding retrainers and registrars are projected to leave the national health service work force at age 55 or above in total between 2005 and 2015, broken down by (a) strategic health authority area and (b) primary care trust area; and how many general practitioners excluding retrainers and registrars have left the national health service work force at age 55 or above in each year since 1990.

Liam Byrne: Information relating to the number of general practitioners, excluding retainers and registrars projected to leave the national health service at age 55 or above in total between 2005 and 2015 broken down by strategic health authority and primary care trust could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on the number of GPs, excluding retainers and registrars, who have left the national health service at age 55 or above in each year between 2000 and 2003 is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Leavers from GPs of 55 and over leavers (headcount) 
		
		
			 2000 702 
			 2001 728 
			 2002 614 
			 2003 639 
		
	
	Information between 1998 and 2000 could also be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Information prior to 1998 is not of reliable quality.

Health Care Providers

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of whether overcapacity will emerge in the NHS under the Government's policy of promoting a choice of healthcare provider for NHS patients.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr. Jones) on 31 October 2005, Official Report, column 834W.

Health Protection Agency

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budget of the Health Protection Agency has been in each year since its inception.

Caroline Flint: This information is in the Health Protection Agency's annual report and accounts for 200304 and 200405, copies of which are available in the Library.

Hepatitis C

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the costs have been of the hepatitis C FaCe It campaign separately identifying (a) the cost of information packs sent to primary health care professionals, (b) the professional fees charged by Munro and Foster, (c) the cost of staging FaCe It events and (d) other expenditure.

Caroline Flint: The information available on expenditure on the FaCe It campaign is shown in the table.
	
		FaCe It hepatitis C awareness campaign: expenditure to date -- 000
		
			 Category 200304 200405 200506(93) 
		
		
			 Information pack for health care professionals 19 62 0 
			 Professional fees charged by Munro and Forster (94) (94) (94) 
			 Cost of staging FaCe It events 0 65 67 
			 Other expenditure, for example, Hepatitis C Information Line 68 431 219 
		
	
	(93) To 31 October 2005.
	(94) Disclosure of this information would be likely to prejudice commercial interests.

Hospices

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much Government funding was made available to (a) children's and (b) adult hospices for 200506.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not routinely collect the data requested on national health service funding for adult and children's hospices. Data supplied by Help the Hospices shows that NHS funding for adult hospices in 2004 was 97.8 million, an increase of about 50 per cent. over 2000 and that NHS funding for adult hospices averaged 34 per cent. of expenditure.

Hospital Beds

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of beds available in community hospitals in (a) west Kent, (b) east Kent, (c) Thames Gateway, (d) Medway and (e) Medway and Swale.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 3 November 2005
	The information requested is not collected in the format requested. However, information on the total number of beds available in all national health service trusts and primary care trusts in England has been placed in the Library.

Influenza Pandemic/Vaccines

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the relative risks to the populations of different primary care trust areas across the country during an influenza pandemic; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The United Kingdom influenza pandemic contingency plan indicates national risksUK, England and devolved authoritiesand those for the typical numbers in a variety of primary care settings, for example, primary care trusts (PCTs), general practitioner practices, of various sizes assuming everyone is affected equally. The indicative numbers do not take into account the detailed demographics of each PCT or GP practice because until the characteristics of the disease are known there is no reliable way of taking account of local variations in population.

Influenza Pandemic/Vaccines

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the supply of influenza vaccines available to Kingston primary care trust; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Department met with vaccine suppliers to discuss supply arrangements and the number of doses required for the flu campaign. This year around 13.4 million doses of vaccine will be made available in the United Kingdom. This is sufficient to provide enough vaccine for those aged over 65 and in at risk groups. General practices are responsible for placing their own orders for supplies of vaccine with manufacturers and for agreeing delivery schedules. The Department holds a central contingency stock, which can be used to address local supply difficulties.

Influenza Pandemic/Vaccines

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she expects all those in vulnerable groups who want influenza vaccinations to receive them; and whether she has received reports of shortages of vaccine.

Caroline Flint: The Department met with vaccine suppliers to discuss supply arrangements and the number of doses required for the flu campaign. This year around 13.4 million doses of vaccine will be made available in the United Kingdom. This amount is based on an estimate of likely uptake among those aged over 65 and in specific at risk groups. The amount of vaccine ordered represents an increase over previous years and we are aiming to increase uptake in the at risk groups.

Influenza Pandemic/Vaccines

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the supply of influenza vaccines to primary care trusts, with particular reference to Cheltenham and Tewkesbury primary care trust; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 25 October 2005
	The Department met with vaccine suppliers to discuss supply arrangements and the number of doses required for the flu campaign. This year around 13.4 million doses of vaccine will be made available in the United Kingdom. This is sufficient to provide enough vaccine for those aged over 65 and in at risk groups. General practices are responsible for placing their own orders for supplies of vaccine with manufacturers and for agreeing delivery schedules. The Department holds a central contingency stock, which can be used to address local supply difficulties.

Influenza Pandemic/Vaccines

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice her Department offers on the consumption of poultry, with particular reference to avian influenza.

Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) advises that poultry should always be cooked thoroughly before being eaten to avoid food poisoning due to Salmonella and Campylobacter.
	On the basis of current scientific evidence, the FSA advises that avian influenza does not pose a food safety risk for United Kingdom consumers. This is because for people, the risk of catching the disease is from being in close contact with live poultry that have the disease and not through eating cooked poultry.

Informal Carers

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to improve the training opportunities available to informal carers.

Liam Byrne: The Government recognise that many carers would like access to training and support in their caring role or feel that their own personal development and general mental and physical well-being would be enhanced by undertaking training or educational opportunities.
	Section two of the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004, which came into force on 1 April 2005, provides that when assessing a carer's needs, councils must take into account whether the carer works or wishes to work, undertakes or wishes to undertake education, training or leisure activities.
	For example, Learning for living is a City and Guilds course specifically designed for this purpose. It is an online learning resource that can lead to a qualification accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. The level two certificate in personal development and learning for unpaid carers is designed to identify and build on the knowledge, understanding and skills of people who are unpaid carers, either currently or in the recent past. The award provides carers with an opportunity for self-development and confidence building, to prepare for other roles and choices and to transfer the skills acquired from the caring role.

Information Technology (Expenditure)

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 July 2005, Official Report, column 2170W, on Information Technology (Expenditure) what the total revenue expenditure was for NHS trusts in 200304.

Liam Byrne: The total revenue expenditure in national health service trusts was 36,008,134,000 in 200304.
	Source:
	200304 audited NHS trust summarisation schedules.

Medical Staff (CRB Checks)

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much her Department spent on Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks for (a) physiotherapists, (b) speech and language therapists, (c) occupational therapists, (d) nursing staff, (e) doctors and (f) other staff employed by the NHS in each year since the CRB was established; how many checks were carried out; and what percentage were cleared;
	(2)  how much her Department spent on Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) police checks for (a) locum staff and (b) permanent staff employed by the NHS in each year since the CRB was established;
	(3)  what percentage of staff employed by the NHS who were subject to Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks had already been subject to a CRB police check within the last (a) year, (b) two years and (c) five years;
	(4)  how much her Department spent on Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks for staff working for the NHS in each year since the CRB was established; how many checks have been conducted; and what percentage were cleared.

Liam Byrne: National health service employers are responsible for paying for Criminal Records Bureau checks on their employees and prospective employees. Information about the amount spent and the number of checks carried out is not collected centrally by the Department.

Medicine Reviews (Older People)

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the target for medicine reviews in the National Service Framework for Older People has been superseded.

Liam Byrne: Although good progress has been made, the target for medicine reviews in the national service framework for older people has not been superseded.

Mental Health

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department has taken to ensure that local protocols and pathways are established to deliver services to people who have a learning disability with mental health problems.

Liam Byrne: Adults with disabilities, including those with learning disabilities, are covered by the mental health national service framework (NSF) in respect of their mental health problems.
	Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century (2001), the first White Paper for people with learning disabilities for 30 years, requires clear local protocols to be in place for collaboration between specialist learning disability services and specialist mental health services.
	In order to promote the development of such local protocols, a learning disabilities dimension was added to the NSF local implementation planning group in 2002 and again in 2004.
	The National Institute for Mental Health in England and the valuing people support team published a service improvement toolkit called Green Light: How Good Are Your Mental Health Services for People with Learning Disabilities? in 2004. This guidance is designed to help local services to work together to ensure that the delivery of the NSF is working for people with mental health problems who also have a learning disability.

Mental Health

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has commissioned into (a) stress, (b) depression and (c) other mental health problems among carers.

Liam Byrne: The Department has not commissioned any specific research in this area. However, we are aware of the potential pressures of caring on a carer's mental health. This is why, through recent guidance, we refer to a carer centred approach to assessment and encourage local authorities to take the mental health needs of carers fully into account when they carry out carers assessments.

Midwives

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the extent of financial support to be offered to student midwives.

Liam Byrne: Diploma level midwifery students receive a non-means tested bursary of up to 6,859 per year. Additional allowances can supplement the bursary if a student is for example: aged over 26; a single parent; disabled; has dependants or on maternity leave. All midwifery students on national health service funded courses have their personal tuition fees, currently 1,175 per year, paid on their behalf.

MRI Scanners

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in establishing a national database of MRI scanners held by each hospital trust; what assessment has been made of (a) the extent of capacity utilisation and (b) waiting times for (i) urgent and (ii) non-urgent cases; and where available data is published.

Liam Byrne: As part of the cancer plan central capital funded programme, an informal database of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners and their locations has been maintained to facilitate the procurement process and monitor deliveries.
	Data on waiting times for MRI scans is not currently collected centrally, but a new data collection is under active review. It is for national health service trusts in partnership with their primary care trusts to assess their MRI scanner utilisation and capacity and that they are using their diagnostic capacity to the full.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy for the treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis;
	(2)  how much funding her Department committed for (a) 200506 and (b) the previous four years for research into the (i) biological causes, (ii) effects and (iii) treatments for myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Liam Byrne: In May 2003, the Medical Research Council (MRC) announced funding for a major trial into various treatment options for those with myalgic encephalomyelitis. Known as PACEpacing, activity and cognitive behavioural therapy: a randomised evaluationthis trial is ongoing.
	The main agency through which the Government supports medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body, funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology. The MRC is currently funding two complementary trials into various treatment options for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) that aim to improve quality of life for those who are ill. The Department is meeting part of the cost of the trials, to which in total 4.2 million has been allocated. Patient recruitment began toward the end of last year.
	Over 75 per cent. of the Department's total expenditure on health research is, however, devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of individual projects, including some concerned with myalgic encephalomyelitis, can be found on the national research register on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/research.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding she has made available for research into the physical causes of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Liam Byrne: The main agency through which the Government supports medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body, funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology.
	The MRC does not normally allocate funds to particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. When appropriate, high quality research in particular areas of strategic importance may be given priority in competition for funds, but research excellence and importance to health continues to be the primary considerations in funding decisions. The MRC always welcomes high quality applications for support into any aspect of human health and these are judged in open competition with other demands on funding.
	The MRC is currently funding two complementary trials into various treatment options for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) that aim to improve quality of life for those who are ill. The Department is meeting part of the cost of the trials, to which in total 4.2 million has been allocated. Patient recruitment began towards the end of last year.
	The Department has, since 1998, separately commissioned and funded a number of small-scale research projects related to aspects of CFS/ME at a total cost of 293,000.
	Over 75 per cent. of the Department's total expenditure on health research is, however, devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of individual projects, including some concerned with myalgic encephalomyelitis, can be found on the national research register on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/research

Myasthenia

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding her Department has allocated for research into myasthenia gravis in 200506.

Liam Byrne: The main agency through which the Government supports medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body, funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology.
	The MRC is currently funding a five-year senior non-clinical fellowship at a total cost of 913,000 specifically to research disease mechanisms and ribonucleic acid-based therapies for pathogenic mutations at the neuromuscular synapse. This basic study aims to understand the underlying mechanisms behind myasthenia gravis and other similar conditions.
	The MRC has also recently awarded a 205,000 research grant to support a study that aims to investigate a novel therapeutic approach for the silencing of genes causing neuromuscular disease. It is hoped that this research will have widespread application where nucleic acids are contemplated as potential therapeutic agents for muscle or neuromuscular junction disease.
	Over 75 per cent. of the Department's total expenditure on health research is devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of individual projects, including some concerned with myasthenia gravis, can be found on the national research register on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/research.

National School Fruit Scheme

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of fruit supplied to schools under the National School Fruit Scheme was sourced according to seasonal variations in local and national availability in the period September 2004 to September 2005.

Caroline Flint: All fruit is supplied based on national seasonal availability.
	The table shows a breakdown of the produce supplied by the school 'fruit and vegetable scheme during the school year 200405 by school term and source region.
	
		Percentage
		
			 Term United Kingdom Imported 
		
		
			 Autumn 30 70 
			 Spring 29 71 
			 Summer 10 90 
		
	
	Although we are obliged to tender competitively and under European Union competition law cannot favour United Kingdom growers in our tendering process, we have designed the school consumption calendar to reflect any seasonality for produce on a national and international level.

National School Fruit Scheme

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health from which holding locations fruit is supplied to schools under the National School Fruit Scheme; and by what methods it is transported.

Caroline Flint: There are 15 distributors to the school fruit and vegetable scheme operating out of 23 distribution centres around the country. Distribution centres are located strategically around the country to attempt to minimise the journey time to schools.
	
		
			 Distributor Location of distribution centres 
		
		
			 A. G. Axton Berkshire 
			 Arthur Brett West Midlands 
			 Country Fresh South Yorkshire 
			 Croydon Fruiterers London 
			 F. W. Gedney Ormskirk, Norfolk/Suffolk 
			 G. W. Price North Yorkshire 
			 George Cossey Somerset 
			 H. B. Hawkes London 
			 Minor Weir and Willis East Midlands, London, South East 
			 Parkfresh Foods Liverpool 
			 Peachey's Essex 
			 Pioneer Foods Cumbria 
			 Prescott Thomas London 
			 Redbridge Hereford, Stoke-on-Trent, Gateshead,  Southampton, Bristol, Wigan 
			 West Country Foods Cornwall 
		
	
	The distributors primarily use diesel powered long-wheelbase 'Transit' type vans, with full refrigeration.

Neurological Conditions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Daventy (Mr. Boswell) of 12 September 2005, Official Report, column 2719W, on neurological conditions, what work force issues were identified by the work force team; and what steps are being taken to address them.

Liam Byrne: The work force group identified shortages in the professions required to deliver the long term conditions national service framework, including medical consultants, allied health professions, specialist nurses and support staff, and the need for a greater flexibility in when and how services are delivered.
	The work force development priorities in this area are reviewed, alongside the requirements in other areas, by the work force review team and will be reflected, with other work force priorities, in the annual workforce planning recommendations to strategic health authorities (SHAs), which are expected to be published shortly. The recommendations cover work force planning in England for healthcare scientists, allied health professions, nurses and midwives, dental teams and doctors and are based on available evidence provided from many sources, including the work force group. The SHAs then consider their local circumstances and options for addressing their specific requirements.
	On 28 September this year, Skills for Health launched a range of competencies in this area to support the national health service in its delivery of more flexible approaches to services.

NHS Beds

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) accident and emergency, (b) intensive care unit and (c) general beds are available in each NHS trust; what percentage that represents of the total beds in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Accident and emergency departments do not have any beds. Information on the number of available beds in wards classified as intensive care and general and acute beds and also the percentage of the total by trust in 200405 has been placed in the Library.

NHS Complaints

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's observations on NHS complaints structures; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Making Things Better: A Report on Reform of the NHS Complaints Procedure in England (10 March 2005) is a useful and timely report, which focuses on the need to develop a more patient-centred national health service complaints procedure. The objective of any complaints process must be to satisfy the person who has raised concerns and, where appropriate, to use that information in order to improve services.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will define the term control total, used for the purposes of the financial monitoring of NHS organisations; and whether NHS organisations will be required to repay the deficits contained within their respective control totals.

Liam Byrne: Control totals are used where it would be impossible to return to financial balance in a single year. The aim is to bring strategic health authorities (SHAs) as close as possible to financial balance for their local health communities.
	The control totals are set in consultation with SHAs. Irrespective of the control totals set, SHAs carry forward deficits and surpluses to the following financial year. This ensures organisations do not benefit from having a deficit, and are not disadvantaged by having a surplus.

NHS Finance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS organisations have financial recovery plans; when each was agreed; over what period each runs; which have been subject to revision; and for what reasons.

Liam Byrne: The Department manages the financial performance of the national health service through strategic health authorities (SHAs). NHS organisations that overspend are required to develop recovery plans to return to financial balance. Recovery plans are agreed and managed by SHAs so the information requested is not held by the Department.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 October 2005, Official Report, column 1287W, on NHS finance, who will provide the additional funding needed to provide strategic health authorities with an uplift to their carry forward; and what she has estimated the scheme will cost in 200607.

Liam Byrne: Under the incentive scheme, strategic health authorities that underspend will receive additional resources and those that overspend will receive a reduction to their resources. On this basis, we expect the scheme to be self-balancing.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to take the decision on which name should replace the name of direct payments.

Liam Byrne: There was a mixed response to the proposal to change the name of direct payments as outlined in the Green Paper, Independence, Well-being and Choice: Our vision for the future of social care for adults in England. We are currently considering the implications of this issue further.
	An interim analysis of the response to the consultation, which is informing our thinking towards the forthcoming heath and social care White Paper is available in the Library.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which areas will be piloting individual budgets; when she expects the pilots to begin; and how individual budgets will differ from the system of direct payments.

Liam Byrne: The first individual budget pilot, which will take place in West Sussex and focus on older people, will begin in December this year. The remaining sites, of which there will be around a dozen, are in the process of being selected. An announcement will be made in November. They will come on stream throughout 2006 and will continue for between 18 months and two years.
	The programme of pilots is being developed with input from stakeholders including people who use services, and an academic research and evaluation team. The pilots are being comprehensively evaluated in order to ensure that they can provide us with the evidence we need to make decisions about future roll-out.
	Individual budgets would build on some of the successful features of direct payments and have the same principles of choice and control. There are, however, some key differences. Individual budgets would include a number of income streams rather than simply social care services in order to give the individual a more joined-up package of support. Individual budgets would also give the individual choice over how they receive their allocation; it does not have to be a cash allocation. Most importantly, individual budgets put people in the centre of the planning process, recognising that they are the person best placed to understand their own needs and how to meet them.

NHS Finance

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the financial position of the NHS.

Liam Byrne: The national health service has achieved overall financial balance in each of the past four years, up to 200405. The audited accounts show that the NHS as a whole will end 200405 with an overall deficit of around 250 million. This represents around only 0.4 per cent. of total NHS resources, compared with the 1.5 per cent. deficit figure in 199697.

NHS Staff

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the reasons for graduate unemployment in (a) physiotherapy, (b) medicine, (c) speech and language therapy and (d) nursing; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 25 October 2005
	After a period of sustained investment to ensure a rapid growth in the national health service workforce, the national health service is now moving to more of a steady state where there is a closer match between supply and demand. NHS expenditure is continuing to grow but getting the right staffing complement is an issue that needs to be addressed locally. Workforce planners within strategic health authorities are working closely with local NHS employers to make sure that staff and students understand the range of opportunities that are available. The electronic recruitment service NHS jobs (www.jobs.nhs.uk) has hundreds of jobs for all staff groups.

NHS Training

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effects of medical careers reforms in the NHS on the number of training contracts available to senior house officers.

Liam Byrne: There were 20,094 medically qualified senior house officer (SHO) and equivalents in the national health service as at 30 September 2004, up from 14,580 in 1997. The full implementation of modernising medical careers (MMC) in the period beginning in 2007 will see the phasing out of the SHO grade and the introduction of new structures. The number of places available in new structures will continue to be decided by service and educational need. The launch of the foundation programme as the first phase of MMC in August this year saw some SHO posts converted to SHO equivalent foundation year two posts but this conversion did not affect the overall number of posts available for doctors working at the SHO level.

Nurses

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of nurses leaving the NHS in each of the last three years.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Nutrition

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has commissioned into the nutrition of older people (a) in care homes, (b) receiving domiciliary care, (c) in an acute hospital ward and (d) in intermediate care.

Liam Byrne: The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the national health service. Over 75 per cent. of the Department's total expenditure on health research is devolved to and managed by NHS organisations. The remainder funds health and social care research through the Department's central research programmes. Details of individual projects, including a number concerned with nutrition and older people, can be found on the national research register at www.dh.gov.uk/research.

Overseas Treatment

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the health establishments abroad which have treated NHS patients in the last five years; and which other establishments she plans to use.

Liam Byrne: Since the end of 2002, patients have been referred for treatment in Europe, primarily to Belgium at Brussels, Bruges and Gent, by Guys and St. Thomas's hospital under the London patient choice (LCP) arrangements. There were also a number of individual contract arrangements set up by national health service commissioners. Information about the health establishments contracted with by NHS commissioners for this purpose has not been collected centrally. The LCP scheme ended on 31 March 2005 although primary care trusts are able to contract with healthcare providers abroad on an individual needs basis. There are no current central plans for further referral schemes abroad because we are rapidly increasing the capacity to treat NHS patients within England.
	Data on where United Kingdom patients are treated in the European Economic Area under the E111/112 schemes is not available in the format requested.

Patient Appointments

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners appointments were missed in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley) on 28 June 2005, Official Report, column 1523W.

Patients' Groups

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  on what occasions she has met bodies representing patients' groups since 5 May;
	(2)  which patient groups she has met since 6 May; and on which dates.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) on 5 October 2005, Official Report, column 2831W.

PCTs/Strategic Health Authorities (Document Distribution)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the (a) reference numbers and (b) titles of (i) statutory instruments, (ii) departmental circulars and (iii) other documents distributed direct to (A) primary care trusts and (B) strategic health authorities consequential to the provisions of the Abortion Act 1967 and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 in the last three years; what action was required in respect of each; and what further documents in these categories she proposes to circulate in the next 12 months.

Caroline Flint: In the last three years, primary care trusts (PCTs) and strategic health authorities (SHAs) have been given access to the following letters and documents about the provisions of the Abortion Act, which set out the Government's policy, recommended good practice and refers to the legal position on abortion in relation to services:
	Letters
	The Chief Medical Officer wrote to PCTs and SHAs on 21 September 2005, following the publication of his report, An Investigation into the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) Response to Requests for Late Abortions.
	The following documents issued by the Department:
	Effective Commissioning of Sexual Health and HIV Services, a sexual health and HIV commissioning toolkit for PCTs and local authorities (2003).
	Government response to the Health Select Committee's third report of session 200203 on sexual health (2003).
	An investigation into the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) Response to
	Requests for Late Abortions, a report by the Chief Medical Officer (2005).
	The following documents funded by the Department:
	The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (2004).
	Recommended Standards for Sexual Health Services, Medical Foundation for Aids and Sexual Health (2005).
	The Department will be issuing best practice guidance for abortion services in spring 2006. The guidance will also take into account the issues raised by the Chief Medical Officer's recommendations, including the legal position on abortion.
	Contact with the national health service about the provision of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act is made with the license holders of fertility clinics. However, in August 2005, all NHS chief executives were given access to the document, The Review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, A Public Consultation via the chief executive's bulletin.

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the effective rate of employer contribution is to final salary pension schemes for nurses in the public sector.

Liam Byrne: The effective rate of national health service employer contributions for nurses who are members of the NHS Pension Scheme is 14 per cent. The employee contribution rate for nurses is 6 per cent.

Physiotherapy

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many physiotherapy training places have been commissioned over each of the last four years, broken down by strategic health authority.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 28 October
	The information requested is shown in the tables.
	Numbers of physiotherapy training commissions broken down by strategic health authority (SHA) have been collected since 200203. Training commissions in 200102 are shown by regional office area.
	
		Table 1: Physiotherapy pre-registration training commissions in 200102 by regional office area
		
			  Headcount 
		
		
			 England 1,780 
			 Northern and Yorkshire 309 
			 Trent 157 
			 East 151 
			 London 302 
			 South East 219 
			 South West 156 
			 West Midlands 262 
			 North West 224 
		
	
	Source:
	Quarterly monitoring returns.
	
		Table 2: Physiotherapy pre-registration training commissions by SHA area
		
			  200303 200304 200405 
		
		
			 England 2,157 2,343 2,391 
			 Avon, Gloucester and Wiltshire 135 135 130 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 35 38 75 
			 Birmingham and Black Country 92 100 122 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 253 324 314 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 57 71 72 
			 Devon and Cornwall 159 158 65 
			 Essex 82 82 96 
			 Greater Manchester
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 36 67 68 
			 Kent, Surrey and Sussex 121   
			 Kent and Medway  2 3 
			 Leicester, Northamptonshire and Rutland   3 
			 North Central London
			 North East London
			 North East Yorkshire and Northern  Lincolnshire 62 51 55 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridge 58 78 76 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 67 76 85 
			 North West London 0 0  
			 Dorset and Somerset  23 23 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 90 90 94 
			 South East London 377 393 414 
			 South West London
			 South Yorkshire
			 Surrey and Sussex  132 116 
			 Thames Valley 77 76 76 
			 Trent 193 190 225 
			 West Midlands South 108 103 104 
			 West Yorkshire 155 154 175 
		
	
	Source:
	Quartlery monitoring returns.

Pressure Ulcers

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the effectiveness of vacuum-assisted closure machines for the treatment of pressure ulcers; whether she plans to instruct the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to examine the effectiveness of such machines; what other steps she is taking to prevent the development of pressure ulcers in patients in hospitals; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence published new clinical guidance on pressure ulcer management in September 2005. This comprehensive guidance includes appraisals on the effectiveness of a wide range of options for the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers, including vacuum-assisted closure methods.
	Reducing the incidence of pressure sores in hospitals is tackled locally through the development and implementation of individualised plans for prevention and treatment agreed and delivered by a multidisciplinary team working with patients and their carers.

Primary Care Trusts

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of redundancies which may arise from the reorganisation of primary care trusts (a) in Durham and (b) in England.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 13 October 2005
	The Department has received proposals on primary care trust configurations from County Durham and Tees Valley strategic health authority and these will be considered by an independent external panel to see whether the proposals meet the criteria identified in the document, Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS, published on 28 July. Before any changes are made, proposals will be subject to a full three-month public consultation, beginning in December.

Primary Care Trusts

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance her Department has issued to primary care trusts on compliance with the Secretary of State's directive of 27 February 2004.

Liam Byrne: Related directions on continuing care and delayed discharges came into force from 27 February 2004. They, and all other published guidance, are available on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/OrganisationPolicy/IntegratedCare/ContinuingCarePolicy/fs/en.

Private Finance Initiative

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps she is taking to ensure that private finance initiative projects for which her Department is responsible create the minimum of environmental damage;
	(2)  what assessment her Department has made of (a) the (i) sustainability and (ii) environmental impacts of private finance initiative projects for which her Department is responsible and (b) what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the private finance initiative process to deliver environmentally sustainable projects for her Department;
	(3)  what role her Department (a) has and (b) plans to take to make the private finance initiative process more accountable and transparent in terms of environmental sustainability;
	(4)  what steps she is taking to make private finance initiative contracts for which her Department is responsible more accountable and transparent in terms of environmental sustainability.

Liam Byrne: The national health service environmental assessment tool kit (NEAT) is the NHS response to the Government's objective of a sustainable construction programme.
	All capital development schemes, whether private finance initiative (PFI) or publicly funded, must submit a NEAT as part of their full business case. The business case must demonstrate a commitment to meeting the NEAT score rating of excellent for a new build or very good for a refurbishment scheme.
	By integrating the design, build and operational aspects into a single financial package, PFI helps to encourage greater efficiency, including energy efficiency, over the whole life of the contract.

Radiographers

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many radiographers have been employed in the NHS in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		National health service hospital and community health services: qualified radiography staff in England as at 30 September for each specified year
		
			  Qualified of which: 
			  radiography staff Diagnostic radiography Therapeutic radiography 
		
		
			 1997 11,771 10,364 1,407 
			 1998 12,118 10,645 1,473 
			 1999 12,330 10,839 1,491 
			 2000 12,489 11,036 1,453 
			 2001 12,706 11,163 1,543 
			 2002 13,031 11,489 1,542 
			 2003 13,344 11,687 1,657 
			 2004 13,900 12,147 1,753 
		
	
	Note:
	New occupation codes for healthcare scientists were introduced in 2003. As a result, a small number of staff previously included under diagnostic radiography are now classified within medical physics
	Source:
	Health and Social Care Information Centre non-medical workforce census.

Residential Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  in what circumstances a local authority can set limits on what it will pay to meet the assessed needs of a person requiring care in a residential setting;
	(2)  when she will next review the capital limits for state support for costs of care in residential settings.

Liam Byrne: The National Assistance Act 1948 sets out the framework within which local authorities decide what people can afford to contribute to the cost of their residential care. Local authorities (LAs) are responsible for assessing the care needs of any person seeking public financial support in order to enter a care home.
	LAs assess a person's ability to pay charges using the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 and the Charges for Residential Accommodation Guide (CRAG). The CRAG provides guidance to local authorities to help them understand the charging regulations and helps to ensure a consistent approach to charging.
	The capital limits set the amount below which people can receive LA help with the cost of their care. People with less than 20,500 are entitled to apply for financial help from social services and local authorities are required to disregard savings of 12,500 or less when assessing residents ability to pay for their care.
	The capital limits are reviewed annually. The review of the Assessment of Regulations, including the capital limits and the CRAG will begin shortly and are intended to be implemented from April 2006.

Sexual Health

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people under the age of 16 years have attended a sexual health clinic in (a) Tees Valley and (b) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The number of attendances at genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics is not available by age group, but age group data are collected for a selection of diagnoses and are shown in the table. The data shown are for diagnoses made at GUM clinics (and excludes primary care) within County Durham and Tees Valley Strategic Health Authority (SHA) and not by the patients' area of residence. For confidentiality reasons, these data are only routinely published at SHA level.
	
		Number of diagnoses(95) of selected sexually transmitted infections in young people aged under 16, County Durham and Tees Valley SHA: 1997 to 2004
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 30 
			 1998 26 
			 1999 29 
			 2000 39 
			 2001 27 
			 2002 40 
			 2003 49 
			 2004 42 
		
	
	(95) Diagnosed conditions: primary and secondary syphilis, gonorrhoea, herpes, genital warts and Chlamydia.
	Source:
	KC60 Returns, Health Protection Agency.

Sleep Apnoea

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the Government's policy on the prescription of continuous positive airway pressure equipment on the NHS for patients suffering from sleep apnoea.

Liam Byrne: It is for health professionals in primary care organisations, in consultation with other stakeholders, to determine which services their populations require and ensure the appropriate level of provision. This would include the provision of continuous positive airway pressure equipment for patients with sleep apnoea where appropriate.

Smallpox Vaccine

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who the members were of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation which decided to purchase the Lister strain of virus for smallpox vaccine production.

Caroline Flint: The Secretary of State for Health made the decision to purchase the Lister strain of smallpox vaccine, taking into account advice provided from the expert sub-group of the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI). This expert advisory sub-group was chaired by Professor Michael Langman, the chair of the JCVI at the time, and was comprised of those core members of the JCVI with experience relevant to smallpox vaccine issues and other invited experts from the organisations listed as follows. These other experts were invited on the basis of their individual expertise in their field and did not necessarily present the views of those organisations to which they belonged. The names of the participants are not therefore being made public. The names of all members of the JCVI are available on the JCVI website at www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk/jcvi/index.htm.
	Organisations to which the attendees belonged were:
	Royal Free Hospital
	Public Health Laboratory Service
	Institute of Child Health
	St. Bart's Hospital
	National Institute of Biological Standards and Control
	Imperial College Medical School
	University of Birmingham
	Centre for Applied Microbiology
	Medicines Control Agency
	Defence and Scientific and Technology Laboratories
	Ministry of Defence
	Department of Health

Smoking

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the health and safety implications of smoking carriages in (a) enclosed public places and (b) workplaces.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 31 October 2005
	A regulatory impact assessment (RIA) has been published alongside the Health Bill. The RIA contains estimates of costs and benefits of legislation to end smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces. A copy is available in the Library.

Social Care Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance has been published on (a) access to and (b) transfer of care records from the NHS to social services; how she expects the sharing of patient care records to develop under the National Programme for IT; and whether legislation will be needed to ensure social services have access to patient records under the National Programme for IT.

Liam Byrne: General guidance on information sharing with social services has been published as part of the Department's publication, Confidentiality: Code of Practice for the NHS. The national programme for information technology, aiming to deliver a national health service care records service by 2010, will, in time, support appropriate access to patient care records by all staff involved in providing that care. Social services will only have access to patient health records with the consent of the patient concerned or where access is already permitted by law, so new legislation will not be required.

Social Care Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timescale is for the development of a national framework for continuing care.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to my press statement of 22 July 2005. This confirmed that work would accelerate on the introduction of a national set of eligibility criteria for national health service continuing care. The Department is progressing work on the production of the national assessment framework for continuing care due for publication in early 2006.

Social Care Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she plans to take to improve the support offered to carers.

Liam Byrne: Carers remain a high priority for this Government. We continue to be committed to ensuring they are supported both as carers and as individuals in their own right. We have supported legislation that strengthens the rights of carers to an assessment of their own needs as carers and involves a right to a carer's assessment. In addition, The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 requires councils to take into account whether the carer works or wishes to work, undertakes or wishes to undertake education, training or leisure activities.
	We are also continuing to fund support to carers through the carer's grant. Since its introduction in 1999, the grant has provided an extra 450 million to increase the number of breaks for carers. The grant is worth 185 million in 200506 and will continue at this level until at least 200708.

Speech/Language Therapy

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure adequate provision of speech and language therapists in the public sector.

Liam Byrne: At September 2004, there were 6,556 speech and language therapists employed in the national health service, an increase of 1,685, or 35 per cent. since 1997.There is a range of initiatives in place to support sustained growth in the number of speech and language therapists. These include improving pay and conditions, encouraging the NHS to become a better, more flexible and diverse employer, increasing training, help with accessing child care and continuing professional development and running national and local recruitment campaigns.
	It is for primary care trusts (PCTs), in partnership with strategic health authorities, local authorities and other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, tackling health inequalities and modernising services. This process provides the means for addressing needs within the local community, including the provision of speech and language therapy.
	PCTs are receiving record levels of investment between 200506 and 200708 to enable them to develop services.

Supporting People Report

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to act on the recommendation in the Audit Commission's report on supporting people, that her Department, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, providers and administering authorities should jointly consider practical problems and opportunities.

Liam Byrne: The Government will be considering the findings of the Audit Commission report in the context of the ongoing work to develop a supporting people strategy. I understand that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will issue a consultation paper on this shortly. Departmental officials have been closely involved in the development of that consultation paper, and the consultation will provide an opportunity for joint consideration of a way forward which also includes providers and administering authorities.

Swale Primary Care Trust

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds Medway primary care trust procured from Swale primary care trust between 200304 and 200405 for (a) Sheppey community hospital and (b) Sittingbourne memorial hospital.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 3 November 2005
	The information requested is not collected centrally.

Tryptophan

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  why the Food Standards Agency did not publish the responses to its recent consultation exercise on the use of tryptophan in food prior to the laying before the House of statutory instruments on the matter;
	(2)  if she will make available in the Library a copy of the submissions received by the Food Standards Agency in response to its recent consultation exercise on the use of tryptophan in food; and if she will take steps to ensure that the Agency publishes the responses on its website;
	(3)  if she will withdraw the draft Tryptophan in Food (England) Regulations 2005 to allow further consultation.

Caroline Flint: A copy of the submissions received by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in response to its recent consultation on the use of tryptophan in food will be placed in the Library. The FSA will make all the documents available in its library and publish these on its website, including the regulatory impact assessment (RIA) and a copy of the regulations. The intention was to publish all the documents when the statutory instruments were laid before the House, but a further delay has occurred due to a typographical error in the RIA, which now requires re-signing before publication.
	The Tryptophan in Food (England) Regulations 2005 will not be withdrawn as this will allow L-tryptophan back onto the market and provide consumers with the opportunity to purchase supplements containing L-tryptophan again. The FSA has asked the committee on toxicity to review its recommendation on L-tryptophan and, depending on its advice, the legislation may then be amended.

Tryptophan

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations have been made to the chief executive of the Food Standards Agency on the agency's decision in relation to the regulation of tryptophan in food supplements since 7 October 2005; and when she will respond to each.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 28 October 2005
	The chief executive of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) received a letter from the Institute of Optimum Nutrition dated 7 October regarding the FSA's decision in relation to the regulation of tryptophan in food supplements. A response to this letter was issued on 25 October.

Vulnerable Adults (Abuse)

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 20 October 2005, Official Report, column 1180W, on no secrets guidance, what plans she has to collect information on the number of adult protection referrals received and investigations undertaken.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 16 June 2005, Official Report, column 629W.
	The second phase of the project is now under way and I will be reporting on the outcome in due course.

Waiting Times

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Written Answer of 20 June 2005, Official Report, column 785W, on breast cancer (waiting times), how the Labour Party manifesto commitment that all women will be seen within two weeks of referral by their general practitioner by 2008 will be monitored.

Rosie Winterton: The 2005 Labour Party manifesto gave the commitment that all women with breast symptoms, even if cancer is not initially suspected, should be seen within two weeks of referral by their general practitioner by 2008. Details of this commitment and how it will be resourced, implemented and monitored are yet to be determined with stakeholders and finalised.

Your Health, Your Care, Your Say

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost is of employing Opinion Leader Research for the Your Health, Your Care, Your Say consultation exercise.

Liam Byrne: The cost of the contract with opinion leader research, which includes organising and running four regional deliberative events and a national citizen's summit, and analysing the results of these events alongside feedback from local events and completed questionnaires is 949,000.

Your Health, Your Care, Your Say

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the cost of the Your Health, Your Care, Your Say consultation exercise to (a) the Department, (b) strategic health authorities, (c) health trusts and (d) local authorities.

Liam Byrne: The estimated cost of the nationally organised elements of the consultation is 1.2 million which is funded from the Department's running costs budget. No estimate is available of the cost to health and social care organisations.